Cold serenity

The snow falls hard and don't you know,
The winds of Thor are blowing cold. 

Snow showers blow through the cove, 4º at sunset

The quote from one of my favorite classic songs, in my mind while on the bluff for this, the coldest weather in my experience here in Sewanee.  My weather station recorded a low of -3.7 F.  Lets call it  minus 4 degrees.

I planned to come up after my track meet on Sunday, but I had to change out a breaker at my Murfreesboro house, a bit nervous about leaving there during this severe weather.  The roads that night were treacherous and TEMA declared a State of Emergency.   I stayed in Murfreesboro Sunday night.

Sunday was a wild weather event.  58º Sunday afternoon in Murfreesboro.  Then it dropped 25º in a few hours and it was freezing rain and then a dusting of snow on top.  I was standing outside with the service tech working on my HVAC unit during the freezing rain.

Sewanee got barely 2 inches of snow, Murfreesboro, a dusting.  By Monday morning it was 10º and dropping!   Sewanee only reached 8º as a daytime maximum.   Today it stayed in the teens and may likely hit 10º tonight.

Standing on the bluff at sunset last night was an ethereal experience.   It was a clear beautiful sunset and very quiet, except for the distant roar of Laurel Branch.   I could distinctly hear the sounds of animals, probably deer, crunching through the snow in the wilderness below, although I couldn't see them.  Maybe it was a wild cat.

Last night, I went out for a brief walk in the sub zero temps during the wee hours.  The stars were brighter than I'd seen since Canada, and Orion was looking right down at me, seeming very large and close.  I slept in front of the fire.

Taking some time off from running to focus on music.