Too cold for the birds

We're having a cold wave. Tuesday morning's low was -5.6ºC (about 22ºF), and that's pretty cold for these parts. Other regions nearby got down to minus thirteen (single digits F), so we were lucky. The forecasters are predicting even colder temperatures as the week goes on.

A few birds headin' out over the snowy vineyard on Monday.

We're fortunate that our power returned within a few hours after the snow storm and that we can run the boiler. The house would be mighty cold if we had to rely on the wood stove alone. We did that back in early March; it was fine, but not fun. And electricity is not overrated. It keeps us in touch with the outside world.

Tuesday morning's temperatures in France and nearby countries.

Apparently much of northern Europe in is the chill zone. The only thing really unusual here is the timing. This weather is more fit for January or February. This cold, this early, is newsworthy. The map above shows our Tuesday morning temperatures. We live where you see that hot pink dot in the middle of France.