It's so cold that.......

.....Even our vehicles have icicles.....the water in our downspout has frozen in place.....& all our houses & garages are rimmed with long hanging icicles! Ha! It's not as bad as it sounds, though, since we're almost up to 25 degrees & the sun is shining! The temperature is supposed to make it up into the 30's by the weekend, so gradually we'll start to thaw out! I just read in the headlines today that the Great Lakes are now 91 % covered with ice, which is verging on the all time record from 1979 when they were almost 95% covered! The people "in the know" say it's a good thing, as the ice prevents the water from evaporating, so the ice, along with the above average amount of snow we've had this year will combine to raise the waterlevels in the Great Lakes, which have been lower than average the last 5 years or so. Good news for the Lakes! :)