Winter Insulators! Part 1.

It was still dark when we got up this morning and it was rather cold for this time of year. There was a new covering of snow, about 2 inches, and it was a light fluffy type of snow.  And it was clear, the stars were still shining brightly.  And it was cold.  But at least there was no wind, so the day shouldn’t be too bad.  I could hardly believe we would be going out on a day like this.  Even harder to believe that I would agree to such a thing, a brief lapse in sanity I suppose.  But it was what it was, and it certainly was cold.  Or did I mention that already?

Hmm, the fire was crackling nicely in the antique cook stove in the kitchen.  Sounded so nice.  Felt even nicer.  Maybe we should wait for a warmer day, I suggested.  Nonsense, it’s a perfect day, said dad.  Not too cold, no wind, and that pond should be nicely frozen by now, he continued.  If the pond is frozen so well, how do we get at the insulators?, I asked.  Those cross arms were sticking up high enough that we should be able to pull them out quite easily, said dad.  And, of course, I will bring the axe just in case we need to chop a bit of ice, he added.  With us standing on that same ice?, I asked again.  Nothing to worry about, said dad.

Odd.  Whenever I said something like that, dad always said it made him worry even more.  Oh well, at least we were warm when we left.  And it was now light, though the sun had not yet risen.  It did look like a nice day.  It would have looked even nicer from indoors by that roaring fire and drinking a nice hot cup of coffee.  Sigh.  We had a bit of a drive to get to this fantastic spot, which is why we left so early.  Of course the little road we wanted to go on had not been plowed since winter arrived and the snow was just too deep to drive through, so… Oh well, a little extra walking isn’t so bad.

The snow had drifted on that first part of the road so it was a bit more than knee deep, not exactly easy walking.  Dad went first on this part since he was bigger than me.  Snowshoes would have been easier for this, I said.  Actually, I had mentioned that before we left home.  Forget it, said dad, this isn’t so bad and it will get better soon.  Right, I thought.  Dad was remembering the last time out on snowshoes.  He didn’t fare so well and ended up tripping because he stepped on one of the snowshoes and found himself face down in the snow.  And he couldn’t get up.  Poor dad, I just stood there laughing so hard I could barely stand up.  That was quite a day.  But at least it was warmer than this particular day.

Anyway, once we made it to the trees the snow wasn’t so deep so walking was much easier, and faster.  Finally, after what seemed like hours, we made it to the pond along the railway tracks.  We made good time, said dad, less than half an hour.  That’s all?  We had to go downhill a bit to the pond but the snow was quite hard packed at this spot.  Those trains can really whip up the wind and it packs the snow good and hard.  Good time for coffee, I suggested.  We just got here, said dad, let’s get some insulators first.  I figured he would say that.  It was cold.  And windy.

This will be continued…

If you are wondering what insulators are all about, check this post I wrote;  https://stevescountry.com/2019/06/14/insulators-what-are-those-things

Steve and Muffin.

© 2020 Steve McLeod.