the birds are cold

 All across the United States the weather news is cold and colder.  I have been watching the food line drop in the feeder outside. Lots of tiny birds are frequenting this food oasis and sticking around to enjoy the company. The feeder in the backyard is racist and only one type of birds feed at a time. It was interesting watching the pecking order develop. But for some reason the feeder on the side yard beckons: come, gather together—and they do.

The good news about the cold and dry weather is that my hair stays curled all day long. The bad news is that my face and hands feel like they are chapping right off my bones. The past couple of days, it has been warm enough to play tennis for an hour or so in the afternoon. The cute little tennis balls are sporting yellow afros.

Yesterday afternoon the heater downstairs stopped working. I was worried that we had run out of oil and ordered a special delivery, but when Doug got home, he checked the oil and said we were fine. We changed the battery in the thermostat, pushed the reset button on the heater and checked all the fuse switches without incident. There was nothing left to do but schedule an appointment with the technician  and bundle up.

As I write, it is 54 degrees outside and 55 degrees inside. Luckily, upstairs, we have electric heating, which I am grateful for as I compose from my beddie. Brianna is stationed next to me wearing a faux fur-rimmed hat and working on her schoolwork. It is going to be an upstairs day.

Hopefully the technician will be able to quickly solve our problem since the family meteorologist, Tricia, called this morning to let me know that we were heading down to 27 degrees this weekend and have a 40% chance of sleet or snow.

I pulled up the Southern Lake County weather alerts for the following:

Freeze Watch for Southern Lake, FL

Temperature Map

Issued by The National Weather Service
Melbourne, FL
9:28 am EST, Fri., Jan. 8, 2010

... FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING... ... FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING... ... FREEZE WARNING IS CANCELLED...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WATCH... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. THE FREEZE WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. A FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THROUGH CENTRAL FLORIDA THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING... WITH ANOTHER SURGE OF VERY COLD AIR PUSHING SOUTHWARD INTO THE REGION DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO THE LOWER 30S NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 4 CORRIDOR AROUND SUNRISE SATURDAY. IN ADDITION... STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 15 MPH WILL BRING WIND CHILLS IN THE 20S. CLEARING SKIES SATURDAY NIGHT WILL ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO DROP INTO THE MID AND UPPER 20S FOR SEVERAL HOURS SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.