Early in the morning, one of the rare mornings when there was no flaming sunrise. There is a flame in the sanctuary candle, and the fiery love of the Sacred Heart just there in the tabernacle… well… the rays and warmth are radiating right round the world.
But otherwise, there are plenty of clouds, and cold, cold, cold! Cold enough for a forest of hoar frost to spring up overnight:
This isn’t really hoar frost, which comes from humidity in the air. These, instead, spring up from ground water and can grow like stalagmites, except from their underside, next to the ground. They can get two, three, four inches long, and even longer, but you have to be quick to see them, as their weight will make them fall in on themselves pretty quickly. How about icicle-frost? Brrrr!!!
Benedicite, gelu et frigus, Domino: laudate et superexaltate eum in saecula.
Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Benedicite, ignis et aestus, Domino: laudate et superexaltate eum in saecula.
Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
I still haven’t put up any insulation. Silly me. Corrugated tin, windows, a bit of plywood. Silly me. I suppose when it gets unbearable (like last year and the year before) then I’ll do something about it (or wait another year). For right now, the wood-stove you’ve helped me to get is a life-saver, as is the chain saw and log splitter. I would never be able to do what I’m doing without the log splitter. Thank you!
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
Hello, please what does this saying means? Thank you.
Angela: ad orientem means “Toward the East” and refers to the coming of our Lord
Do you know how blessed you are? Even in the cold… Thank you for posting pictures and discussing log-splitters, the weather and hoar frost (something I’ve never seen before, only read about). For a Mommy with three children under the age of five who rarely gets quiet and time before the Blessed Sacrament, I must say your depiction is a blessing. Please remember we crazies who covet (holily) the peace that surrounds you. Thank you Father. Praying for you and the priesthood.
I have never seen icicle frost – quite extraordinary. It is only by seeing these pictures that I realise how lucky we are in Britain to receive the Gulf Stream – its 10 C ( 50 F ) here on the South Coast at the moment!
That sounds way too cold! Do you sleep in a hat?
And is Laudie your “hot water bottle?”
Jennifer: I have a “hoodie” jacket that I wear. I lost my hat! Typical me. Laudie sleeps under the wood stove until it’s time for me to go to bed. Then, out she goes. I made a little doghouse for her under the hermitage and threw in some ceder chips. She’s very happy to keep an eye on things at night.