February 9, 2026
The past two weeks have been the coldest since I've lived in the area, and rivaling the coldest days in northwest Pennsylvania. I think the lowest actual temperate was -2. The other day, the windchill around 4pm was -11. My daughter wanted to go outside and play; 15 minutes was enough for me, though she, being a penguin, wanted to stay out. The pipe from the bathtub froze one night. It's unreachable, so I tried various things (hair dryer on drain, baking soda and vinegar, and finally salt). I think the salt did it, as that was the last thing I tried before going to bed and all the water had drained out by morning. The faucet has since been dripping every day that the low temperature has been below 15 or so, which has been every day except for two or three.
On top of the temperatures, the ground has been covered in a 6- or 8-inch layer of snow topped with a crust of ice. I've been throwing out copious amounts of birdseed. In addition to birds, squirrels and deer have been eating it. The deer have also been eating the cherry laurel around the house, which is the first time I've noticed them doing that. In the years ahead, there should be more evergreens around here for them - I'll be putting in some winterberry hollies next month, will just have to protect them for a few years first.
I'm looking forward to the thaw. It looks like we're out of the single digits now and after tomorrow we'll be out of the teens. Starting on Sunday, the temperature is forecast to be in the low 40s, so it's coming soon.