When Hell Freezes Over

Who hasn’t heard the phrase “when hell freezes over” used in some context in their life? Hell has frozen over in Oklahoma or at least it seems that way. How cold is it? Well, if you have ever considered moving here for a more reasonable cost-of-living than where you reside now (California, for example), be advised that when it gets cold here, it can get really, really cold. How people that live in places like Minnesota, Wyoming and Wisconsin are able to adapt to the winter weather and remain in those regions of these United States, is beyond my current level of understanding. Temperatures here are sitting in the “teens” and dipping down into the single digits for the past few days. I’m finding comfort while I’m sitting here typing only because the house is warm, the dogs are quietly sleeping and I’m enjoying continuous Pandora music (commercial free) on my Cecilio & Kapono station. Sweet escape. Let’s get back to the real topic of this writing which is this freaking cold weather. Last night, I went out to the garage to check if my laundry was done in the washer and found myself staring at an error light. I opened the top of the washer, only to discover that the wash cycle had never started. The problem? Apparently, the hoses (wrapped with insulation) were frozen. There was nothing that I could do but wrap additional covering over the exposed hoses and hope the pipes don’t explode before this terrible cold snap is over and the temperature rises again. To make matters worse, the forecast calls for temperatures to drop even lower in the days to come. There are things I like about living in Oklahoma, but I swear that this winter weather is NOT one of them. It sucks and that’s the nicest way I can express how much I hate it when it gets this cold. Winter has been my least favorite season of the year, even when I lived in California but this cold climate in Oklahoma is the main reason why I would like to pack it all up and move somewhere else where the seasonal changes are not so dramatic. All the more power to people that prefer cold weather or don’t mind it. Give me shorts and slipper weather and you can keep your ice and snow.

Outside our bathroom window this afternoon, I noticed a group of robins huddled close together and that kind of gives me a different perspective of how they might be dealing with these temperatures, given the fact that they’re out in it 24/7. There’s snow and ice on the ground and all the worms they remember enjoying last summer are probably hibernating underground, below the freeze line in their thermal underwear, with no plans to come out for a few months. There’s not much too eat these days for our feathered friends so I did a little YouTube research to see what robins like to dine on in the winter months. Apparently their preferences include berries, raisins, mealworms and peanuts. Our neighbor (Rita) said she is feeding them peanut butter and jelly. What? Peanut butter and jelly??? Add a couple of slices of bread and what do you have? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Anyway, I drove down to the nearby Dollar General store and picked up a couple of jars of peanuts and a large box of raisins. Apparently, unsalted is a better choice and I took a jar full, chopped them so the birds won’t have to chew as much ( I know they don’t chew…..I just said that) and spread the chopped peanuts and the raisins on the ground in our front yard. There were quite a few robins perched in the neighbor's trees across the street but I guess their eyesight is not that good and they couldn’t see the food from where they were chillin’ (literally). Eventually, one will spot the food and then before you know it, all the robins in the neighborhood will be enjoying a delicious peanut and raisin feast in our front yard. You see, if you didn’t already know, once one bird finds food somewhere, he (or she) has an obligation to spread the word and let other birds know where the food is. Yeah, right! I’m sure that’s what they do. It’s more likely that the first one will be thinking about eating as much as they can before another bird spies the free meal and swoops down for his share of the bounty..

Since many of the other birds, (sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, etc.) aren’t too crazy about peanuts, raisins (or the peanut butter and jelly choice), I picked up a 40# bag of sunflower seeds for them. Squirrels also like to gorge themselves on sunflower seeds so there is a separate feeder for my furry friends and a hanging bird feeder that they (the squirrels) will not be able to get into. Things are real tough and it looked like the robins below my window were pecking at the snow, I would guess because water is hard to find and they’re thirsty. The water in our birdbaths was frozen so I added some tap water from the faucet to help thaw the ice and included a little immersion heater set to turn on and off, with a timer, so that at least some of the water would remain thawed and available at all times. Poor birds. I imagine that not all of them are able to survive weather such as what we’re experiencing right now. I hate this bitter cold but their plight helps provide some perspective on the other living things outside these doors that have their own daily struggles to deal with and try to survive through. It does bring to mind those cold nights I spent with no heat in that shotgun house, so many years ago. I’m whining a little but it’s warm in here. So, I should just stop, and give thanks.