Brr-rr!

Unless you live way South you haven't been experiencing the bitter cold of the past few weeks as we have up here in the North.  Brother Greg said Nevada has been colder than normal as part of the weather patterns, but of course nothing like here.
We were so spoiled with temps in the 40s all through January.  To the point we were really beginning to wonder what was going on.  Well, of course, you will always get what you ask for and when winter came it came hard.  Right now we have had about two weeks with nothing above zero.  
I know further east it was really severe.  Then the word came they were stopping mail delivery for a couple of days in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Illinois, even Missouri, then you knew it was cold!  My Chicago cousin worked from home for a couple days as did my niece in Minneapolis because people were not to be out in the bitter weather.
Our problem out here on the prairies is wind-chill.  There is nothing to stop the wind from blowing.  Livestock will travel with the wind and that can get them into trouble by drifting into coulees, fence corners and other places where they bunch up and freeze.  Ranchers have to get out with feed for them as of course they eat more when it is cold.
On the coldest day last week I looked out my front window and was shocked to see about 15-20 robins flocked together and sitting on my front sidewalk.  I had just blown off the snow and thus exposed some plants and seeds along the edges.  They were right in there.  That was two days in a row.
I don't think I have ever seen robins flocking together.  In the summer I may see three in the yard at once but that is all.  I also had a large downy woodpecker at the bird feeder, a passing blue jay and some smaller birds.  It was a busy morning.
​From the weather people it looks as though we will have a slight warming during the day for the next week.  Some odds and ends of snow just to remind us what season it is.  But overall it is cold!
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