Alone at 40 below zero F.--- 1972

When I was living in the log cabin on the other side of the mountain, alone, (in the 70s) we had about 5 days of -40 F. weather. NOTHING would work, except what I managed to keep around my wood stove and coal stove I had back then. I could bring in my car battery and keep it warm, but even if/when the car started, wheels don't like to turn and gears don't like to shift in that coldness! School was called off, thank god, or I couldn't have gone anyway.

I drained my water pipes and put antifreeze in the traps, and set up a double-decker camp cot in the kitchen near the stove so I could sleep up near the ceiling where it was always about 20 degrees warmer than at floor level. I set my alarm to get up to feed the fires every couple of hours! A Coleman gasoline stove I used to heat snow for drinking water and coffee, and to heat up something to eat. And I also kept a warm pot of melted snow on top of the coal stove.

That was the first (out of only two times) I tried the old test to see if hot coffee would turn to ice before it hit the ground out in the yard......AND IT DID!!! If you toss it high enough, it will come down as ice! I had to do it several times because I couldn't believe my eyes before I got too cold to stay out there!

But I will never forget the satisfaction of being able to go back into that warm little haven and know that I was alive only by my own efforts, and was safe against the extreme cold. There was a full moon, too, with an icy halo around it, and being out there that night was when I wrote the following poem. I know I have sent it before, but every winter it goes through my head as I travel in and out carrying firewood! And I modify it a bit each year, it seems! I am including both of my names now, as I began it when I was Martineau.

CHRISTMAS EVE AT 40 BELOW

How cold it is outside tonight,
How crunchy, crispy cold.
A snow has fallen, soft and light,
Upon the fall of old.

The brilliant moon above the pine
Gives snowy shapes below
A glist’ning, sparkling, silv’ry shine;
The very air’s a-glow.

The trees and shrubs are cased in rime;
My breath becomes a cloud.
The earth’s asleep this wint’ry time
And stillness rings out loud.

What is it now for what I yearn,
Alone this Christmas Eve,
As to the snow and ice I turn
From warmth of cabin eave?

While on my cabin porch I pause
to listen in the cold,
I ask the moon about the cause
Of wars, of hate, of getting old.

Perhaps a promise from the skies
I seek this Christmas season…
Yet here, before my eyes, it lies,
Defying depths of reason.

The lilac bush is steely cold;
A sprig of buds I borrow.
Beneath their shells the secret’s told:

The lilacs of tomorrow.

Susan Martineau/Lavigne

DECEMBER 6, 2008

Hi Everybody!

So far today I have peed on the porch in the snow (7 Deg. F. temp out there!), eaten my breakfast, patrolled the kitchen floor while N prepared what she calls a
'turkey dinner' for herself, gone out front while N loaded the truck with tons of bags of garbage and recyclables, was loaded into the truck for the dump run, and off we went!

At the dump, the nice man who helps N unload the bags gave me a yummy doggy tidbit!

Now, we are back at home, and N is waiting for the turkey to be done.

That cat who is asleep on the big bed is weird....all he does is eat, sleep, pee, poop, eat, sleep, pee, poop. N says he is ancient, and he should get to do whatever he can and wants to do! Hope I never get that old. (N just said she hopes I DO get that old!)

N just brought up the fake/non-smelling balsam tree from the cellar and took off the old lights from many years past. Then she put new LED lights on it.....decided it needs more than what she has, so guess we'll go get more tomorrow. (I sure hope it's warm enough for me to go with her!)

It's beginning to look like that season that humans call 'Christmas.' The reason I like it best is that N can stay home with me instead of going off in the wee hours of the morning to her job. I get lonely here all day. If Twitch, that weird cat, could share the time with me, I wouldn't mind it as much! I also like opening my stocking presents that N always gets for me!

Back I go to my new Fox squeak toy! Happy Saturday to all you 4-footers put there!

LAST DAY OF NOVEMBER

Here's what it looked like in the yard today.

I got to go out while N brought in firewood, but she was too busy on that darn computer to go skiing! However, we played with my toys in the living room, and she made the yummiest smelling soup out of a turkey carcass. Then she took some more pictures of this stupid plant....instead of me!




The distant mountains looked really cool today, so N took a couple of shots of them, too.

Oh well...maybe we'll go skiing tomorrow!

OUR GREAT SHOPPING EXCURSION

Went out into elbow-deep new snow this morning....always a shock to squat and pee in that stuff!! Tried to find a wayward deer sneaking around out there, but no go! I waited on the porch for HOURS while Nasus was flitting around the kitchen, feeding that slob of a senile cat, feeding the woodstove, getting her coffee, turning on her computer, mumbling to herself!! FINALLY she let me in, after making me sit and STAY on that cold porch floor until she said, "OK!" I guess she's tired of the way I bolt past her, clawing at the doors, failing to control my excitement! I got my morning tidbits, trying to carefully mouth them from her hand without biting her! Sometimes it works!

Played with my stuffed toys for a bit while N clicked those letters on that board near her computer. Heard on TV that the terrorists in India still had control of the Taj Mahal Hotel, and that tons of people were now dead. When will humans learn that growls, tail heights, head postures, and general all-around body postures should let people know who's the boss! Why do those two-footers need all those guns and grenades to terrorize each other? I wish I could make them see what works in the worlds of 4-footers.

Then off we went in the truck to a place where I could hear all kinds of 2-footers using snarly voices with each other as they got ready to do what they call 'shop.' For a while I barked at them, but it didn't seem to do any good. So I settled down until N came back with a LOAD of great smelling stuff! Was glad when we got moving again, and the heat was turned back on.....started to get a bit chilly in that cab!

N ate a yummy-smelling muffin she bought herself on the way home, but she forgot to offer me anything. Oh well....I know I'll get something when we get home.

Time for me to eat now, and then play with some new toys!

HERE I GO....POST NUMBER ONE!

I tried to get her up this morning with some well-placed face licks! She groaned a bit, stretched, rolled over when she discovered she didn't have to get up for school, and was comatose for another half hour! Sigh! I was as patient as I could be, but I simply HAD to get outside....so back to the face licking I went. This time she got up!



She is so good at ignoring my violent tail-wags and frolicking about as she heads to get her coffee and puts some logs on the fire. I always have to pick up a squeak-toy and toss it around to keep from bursting at the seams! FINALLY she opens the double glass doors and lets me out onto the snow-covered porch to pee! WHEW! I admire the huge snow flakes coming down on my fur, and scan the yard for any deer who may have dared to venture out into the open....I saw none this morning. But here is the view from my deck:



Now we are off to the store, she is telling me.....she's making turkey soup today. Sure hope I get a new toy!!!!