Happy New Year! Happy very cold, extremely cold, frigidly, bitterly cold New Year!
There just aren’t enough “colds” to adequately describe my thoughts on this weather. And last night was just the primer for what should prove to be a really good time tonight. The weather people are predicting -12 degrees overnight at my home in Lunenburg and -8 in Stow, with wind chills bringing the “feel” down to somewhere around -1000.
After many hours “studying” the Discovery Channel, Tim continues to remind me that this would be a heat wave in Alaska so I have nothing to complain about. I continue to remind him we are not in Alaska for a reason and maybe he should just go outside and shovel in his bathing suit.
But, I do recognize we are fortunate to have a woodstove and a furnace and an electric mattress pad to keep us warm. With the kind of cold we have had so far this season, people are running out of wood and oil and purchasing more is an expensive proposition. The Stow emergency service departments are staying on top of the weather and are available to help as needed. On our website, you will find a list from the State Fire Marshal’s office, in conjunction with the Stow Fire Department, of safety tips during a cold snap such as this. They will provide updates as needed.
And don’t forget your pets! Our dog, a Finnish Spitz bred for cold weather, has gotten a bit older and is no longer the snow boy he used to be. Last night he went outside, watered my tires, looked around at the snow, felt the cold and headed right back to the door to come in. A half hour later, he wanted to go out again. Same routine. Again and again. I swear he kept thinking that maybe THIS time, it would be warm and dry out there. Adorable boy, but not always too bright.
And while this cold weather should pass over the weekend, there is more of it headed our way next week. Please be sure to check on your neighbors and family to make sure they have what they need to stay warm and dry.
For our online edition, we bring you several articles of interest including the recent Tri-Town meeting with Nashoba School District officials and representatives from the three Nashoba District towns. Ellen has provided a round up of the Nashoba winter varsity sports teams and Stow resident and journalist Bob Cooke brings an update to the Artemisia growing project at the Sipler’s small farm that is being run by Stow’s Pam Weathers in hopes of finding a new treatment for malaria. The program shows signs of progress.
There are also calendar listings and the Public Safety log, of course, along with the Stow Community park ice skating schedule. Rec Commission member Tim Allaire said this morning that they are planning to have the ice cleared later today (Friday).
We will hold the vacation photos until our print edition on January 8th so people will have a hard copy to keep. BUT if you have any great storm pics, feel free to send them in and we’ll post them online!
Stay warm and we’ll see you in print next Wednesday, January 8!
Cyndy Bremer, managing editor