The Coldest Winter Since '76

Sign on Keeseville Laundromat: Here, Winter is November through May!

They say it's so cold in these mountains that we don't get a Fourth of July until Labor Day. Another version asserts that we have three seasons: winter, Fourth of July and pre-winter. The pessimists complain about the cold and say it's worse than anything. The optimists counter that it may, indeed, get even colder. The old-timers at the Town Garage say that this winter has been exceptionally cold, the worst since 1976 when even more water mains froze than this year.

Getting Crossways on the Access Road

Well, that's all good news for over-wintering rookies like us because we've survived it. The backwoods mountains are the worst place to declare premature victory, but the days are getting longer and this morning's temperature was nearly 20F (above zero!). We had a string of 56 days below freezing and Lake Champlain froze solid for the second year in a row. That hasn't happened in a long time. Even Niagara Falls and Lake Erie were frozen.

Niagara Falls Freezes Over

Today's high was barely above freezing, but it was sufficient to be the warmest day in a month. A man in Keeseville said it was so warm he actually had to roll his car widow down, which sounded like a harbinger of spring but I wasn't buying it. Lumberjacks and their tall tales inspired the North Country's culture, so a little truth stretch is commonplace. Anyway, I appreciate an occasional exaggerated story way more than than (the unavoidable) reality TV.

Our Snow-Capped Birdhouse 
Awaits Springtime Occupants

Regarding car windows, the beagle occasionally surprises us with a glimmer of intelligence. She doggedly figured out how to operate the windows in the Tundra. One morning it was ten below and, sure enough, as we got underway she rolled the window down then stuck her head out of it. I sped up to 35mph to see if she'd withdraw from the -41F wind chill, but she was unfazed. Her nose felt like it had been immersed in liquid nitrogen. Maybe she's not that smart. Dogs can be amazingly durable critters.

An Early Morning Drive at Twenty Below Zero