On the Lee Side

Minus 20 outside.  When you step outside, heat billows out and condenses the second it hits the frigid air.  Thankfully it's 70 in front of the wood stove.

This kind of cold makes you earn your keep. Pumping water, hauling wood: any chore becomes little more intense in this weather.

It's a day when temperatures won't get above zero.  In the morning there is a steeping fog over Lake Superior.  A cold arctic high pressure system pushed south into the upper Midwest last night.  Winds howled and sent wind chills dangerously into the minus 30-40 degree range.  Although a few inches of snow fell when the front moved through, the relentless winds swept it all away and deposited drifts on the lee side of any obstacle.

We finally tracked our first ski up to the meadows this afternoon.  It feels good to leave your door on skis and wind your way through the spruce and birch forest of the Superior Highland.  Gentle rolling terrain greets you as you ascend the hill.   Once on top at the meadow, a fresh wolf kill was marked by dozens of crows and Bald Eagles.  The descent takes less than half the time and is full of great views of Lake Superior as well as the Sawtooth Mountains.  The pleasure doesn't end until you reach your front door where you take off the skis and walk inside to a warm wood stove and cup of tea!

Snow is in the forecast.  Plans for a new pantry and baby room are on the table.  Material for these projects are slowly amassing.  Snow drifts are on the lee side of the cabin.  It's hard to imagine that we are also already on the lee side of winter...