Saturday, May 4, 2024
Experiencing frozen conditions once per decade is far too often, in my opinion, and these last three years we have had some Arctic blasts that have resulted in some of the coldest weather of my lifetime.
Hopefully, we won’t see any more of this brutal stuff for quite some time (never again if I get my choice). It’s time to catch up with Lu and get her thoughts on the frigid conditions.
Jeff: Well Tallulah, we survived another deep freeze. It’s hard to function in weather below freezing, and add ice to that and you just increase the misery index exponentially.
Lu: I don’t understand everything you said, but yes, it was very cold. Too cold to chase squirrels, to growl at cats, to bark back at the neighbors’ dogs through the fence. It was too cold to go out for more than a couple minutes. You know how much I love walks. Well, I don’t think I could have enjoyed a walk in that weather.
Jeff: Yes, we were very fortunate to be able to stay inside. I feel bad for those who had to stay outside during the latest chill — whether people, animals or plants.
Lu: Going outside was very uncomfortable. The extreme temperature, the cold wind that was too much even for all my fur, and the uncomfortable crunchy ice I had to walk on in the back yard.
Jeff: At least you didn’t have to stay out long. It was nice and at least mostly warm inside our home. Although I will feel the impact of heating the house when the electric bill comes.
Lu: I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that. Thank you for taking care of that for me.
Jeff: Any time, Lu. I am happy to help keep you comfortable no matter if it’s bone-chilling cold or blast furnace-like heat that we have to deal with.
Lu: I like the heat better. I can stay inside most of the time, and at least when I go outside for a few minutes it doesn’t hurt. It got so cold that it actually hurt to stay outside for even a couple of minutes.
Jeff: You are definitely right about that, Lu. I don’t think that people who live up north like the extreme cold either. But for those of us who live in Texas and other parts of the south, brutally cold weather just seems unnatural.
Lu: Why does anyone want to live up north and be in the cold more often?
Jeff: That’s a good question. I guess some people were born there and just don’t want to leave. Others would leave in a heartbeat but can’t because of jobs, family or finances. And some people actually prefer the intense cold to the summer heat.
Lu: What! No way!
Jeff: It’s true. I worked with a man in Waxahachie — south of Dallas — back in the 1990s who left the area and moved back to Michigan because he and his fiancée couldn’t stand the thought of another Texas summer.
Lu: Wow — didn’t they have air conditioning?
Jeff: I’m sure they did, but I guess even that just wasn’t enough.
Lu: We’ll, I am glad we don’t live where it’s cold a lot. Even what we get here is too much.
Jeff: You’ve got that right, Lu. Cold is bad enough, but freezing and wet is a terrible combination. All we can do in those circumstances is endure and wait for warmer days. Fortunately, in Texas we don’t have to wait too long for those.
Lu: Yay! Then we can take our evening walks. I hope the cold stays away. It’s not welcome here.
