At -22 Fahrenheit, we clearly see the difference between the addition we built and the main trailer. Even though the corners aren't precisely square in the former, we insulated it like mad and thus find it easy to keep the internal temperature at a balmy 68 throughout arctic blasts. In contrast, inside the trailer, I had to keep the wood stove running full bore from 4:30 am on to maintain a temperature above 40. We sure would add a lot more insulation to our main living space if our normal weather regularly dropped down so far below 0.

Despite the momentary discomfort, though, my main concern with this cold snap is fruit trees. Will our Chicago Hardy fig simply die back to the ground the way it did last year at -12, or will -22 be the death knell for this Mediterranean fruit? Our current thick snow cover should protect overwintering garlic and strawberries, but with dormant peach buds starting to get damaged at -10 Fahrenheit, will we even see a bloom this spring? I sure am glad I decided to wait at least until March to prune.