Yesterday Morning (-16 F)

This is me yesterday morning! (The sunglasses are a pure accessory.)

We woke up at 4:30AM, yesterday, to the coldest morning of the winter so far. It was 38F in the cabin and -16F outside. We have been experiencing some pretty cold weather this past week. At one point, both the Mule and snow machine refused to start.

After my husband, Gaston, had a fire going in the wood stove, we discovered that the propane gas fireplace wouldn’t light. We quickly surmised that the two D batteries that ignite the pilot were frozen, so Gaston I warmed the batteries in our hands. Thankfully, the stove lit once the warmed up batteries were reinstalled.

As the day progressed, we discovered that our water pressure pump had frozen. Gaston, worked at defrosting the hose by putting hot water bottles on it. (My idea… much better than his plan to use a blow torch.) Later in the day, when it warmed up enough for us to start the gas generator, Gaston fired that up and faced a small electric space heater towards the hose so it would stay open. The hose is located on the cabin wall, so no wonder it froze over night! Minor details!

It’s 0 F outside as I type. I just discovered that our kitchen sink won’t drain because that is now frozen! I can hear Gaston working on opening that up right now. The drain hose is wrapped with some type of heating coil. Once he plugs the coil into the generator system, it will gently heat the pipe up. Last time, it took six hours to thaw, but it thawed!

Tomorrow afternoon, it’s expected to finally warm up, and it looks like a very pleasant week is in store. Hopefully, we'll finally go out and do some ice fishing!