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Cold, cairns and chilblains

by on January 24th, 2011

In the north country, cold = boasting rights. Right? It was -33F at my place last night. I survived. I’m tougher than you, if you saw only (only!) -15F, well, I’m just more north country than you are. On the other hand, if it was -38F at your house, I’m whupped. You win. Oh yeah, it’s all friendly, but there is a weird competition about who saw lower temperatures. It’s a feature of living in a cold climate. Funny, huh?

Out walking with husband Bill yesterday, it was already -6F at mid-afternoon. I made him snap this photo of one of the (many) cairns he’s built around our farm:

Knoble cairn on the upper meadow.

And then there’s chilblains. What the heck are chilblains, you ask? Well, here’s the dictionary definition: “an inflammatory swelling or sore caused by exposure (as of hands or feet) to cold; medical name is erythema pernio; less severe than frostbite.” For me, though, chilblains are one of those words I associate with 19th century British fiction or my old farm neighbors. It’s a word that just isn’t used anymore. I love it. “Ah, dearie, rub my feet a bit whilst I sit by the fire…my chilblains are acting up again.”

So, this blog entry is about cold weather…did I tell you it was -33F at my farm last night?

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1 Comment on “Cold, cairns and chilblains”

  1. Pete Klein says:
    January 25, 2011 at 9:30 pm

    Chilblains? And here I thought it had something to do with chilled brains?
    Here’s a thought to warm the cockles of your heart. With all these lowest of the low temperature readings, has it ever given you pause to wonder just how accurate any temperature reading actually is? The variation from place to place and thermometer to thermometer is interesting to say the least.

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