Day 25.

It's nasty out there, snowing and with a fierce wind from the north. There's not a whole lot of snow on the ground, if only because it can't gain any purchase; the wind whips it away and all that's left are tiny little drifts. It's howling over the top of the chimney and really giving all the trees a good shake.

The snow started last night just shortly after dark, and the wind has picked up since then. I woke up about 3 or 4 in the morning and stumbled outside to pee, barefoot and shirtless, and on my way out, I reflexively went to thumb the knob on the door that locks it. I managed to stop myself in time, but had I not, I'd be huddled in the shed right now in my boxers, shivering, draped in the lawnmower bag, and trying to figure out a way to break into the cabin.

But for the wind, this isn't that horrifying. Visibility is still pretty high, and although it's supposed to continue for the next day or so, it's nothing some winter wear can't weather. Weather.com says the wind is only 18 mph, but there's no way that's true.

I cut a nice pile of wood yesterday, and I'm glad I did. In addition to making sure I didn't freeze, the work was intensely satisfying, and I came in to have lunch, covered head to toe in sawdust, my hands buzzing from the saw, and felt like Mister Honest Labor. Fresh-cut wood smells just wonderful, and I've now got a good-sized pile of birch that, for whatever reasons, seems to burn more slowly than the stuff I've been using.

I reconstructed my lost chapter yesterday, and it's much, much better for it, as I knew it would be. I finished up my awesome chicken over the course of the today, and today I start on the pile of pork roast I pulled from the freezer. What to do with it? Probably just sear it off and eat it with some beans or something, since I've certainly got a load of those. Ooh. Black-eyed peas.