Monday, November 5, 2012

Phenology: First Freeze

When I got up and went outside the air felt chilly this morning. There was just enough light to see the dial-type outdoor thermometer on the front porch (mounted while Dad could still see large, high-contrast objects). Yes, the needle was shivering down in the upper twenties.

(Fahrenheit, of course. Folks around here have yet to figure out Celsius temperatures, although Oogesti's new car, with a wired-in penchant for showing inside and outside temperatures Celsius, is helping him figure out when "upper twenties" means sultry and when it means freezing cold.)

It didn't feel all that cold to me since I've been working on adjusting to lower temperatures, and also the air was humid and the ground hasn't frozen yet. I'd left some cold caffeinated drinks on the porch. They were nicely chilled, not icy. Time to start storing them in an unheated room inside, instead.

I am still wearing open-toed sand shoes, Gentle Readers. I did wrap up in a shawl, but halfway to the computer center I was feeling warm and had bared one shoulder.

This is a local privilege available to my neighbors in Gate City, but definitely not available to many people in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, who have snow to complicate efforts to restore electric power after Hurricane Sandy. Once again, here's a list of things to mail to these people. (If you don't have the address of anyone in need, I'm told that the Union Avenue Fire House, Union Beach NJ 07735, is accepting donations for those nearby.)

* Winter gear, coats, caps, blankets. Somebody finally needs this stuff! Hurray! Now you can stop offering it to middle-aged ladies who are steaming in our cotton jerseys!

* Clothes, especially boys' things, which tend to be worn out more often than passed on. New, clean socks and underwear for all ages and sizes.

* Pots, kettles, dishes, and silverware.

* Cleaning supplies. Toilet paper. Paper towels. Dish and laundry detergent. Hand soap (and moisturizer).

* Vitamins, aspirin, over-the-counter meds. Antiseptic/antibiotic ointments like Bacitracin and Lamisil may be especially needed in flood areas. Unsweetened Listerine is good for cleaning mold and polluted water off things that shouldn't be bleached. Correspondents have also specified Motrin, Tylenol, and Advil.

* Batteries of all kinds--cell phone, laptop, flashlight, transistor...

* Gift cards to stores where people can buy things that shouldn't be mailed, like gasoline, kerosene, Coleman Fuel, and bleach. (In an earlier post "bleach" appears on a list of things to mail. Flood areas always need lots of bleach, but the Post Office prefers that people buy it locally.)

* Treats for bored, stressed kids...think books and non-noisy toys as well as junkfood, in the interest of others who may be sharing close quarters with the kids.

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