Tuesday January 20, the 20th day of 2021

Another Hall of Famer had died. Don Sutton pitched 23 seasons in the majors, 16 with the Dodgers. 7th all-time in strikeouts. A four-time NL All-Star. Sutton, a long-time broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves, had won 324 games (14th-most in MLB history), including a franchise-record 233 wins as a Dodger. He also holds the Dodgers records for innings pitched, strikeouts, and shutouts.

Today was President Trump’s last (full) day in office. 

I did some snow-blowing in the morning. It really wasn’t necessary as we only got about ¾ inch of snow, but I wanted the driveways cleared so the sun would melt the ice, which it did. I did Twila’s driveway too. I told her last week to quit hiring a man to plow it, that I like being out in the fresh air. She wanted lunch from Deb’s so I ran out and picked up a Salisbury steak dinner for her before noon.

I finally got Missy’s Christmas present over to her. The present is kind of out of place now since Christmas is long gone and the gift was the “Night Before Christmas House” by Thomas Kinkade. The house allows one to watch and listen as the old poem is narrated by Kinkade himself with each room lighting up when they are part of the story. When the lights come on in a room, they show handcrafted and hand painted scenes and figurines. As for Kinkade, sadly he died in 2012 from intoxication from alcohol and valium. 

I watched a lot of football this weekend, another two games today. I was surprised that New Orleans lost at home to Tampa Bay. Next Sunday will be the conference championship games. The Bills, who I want to win it all, travel to Kansas City where it is supposed to rain all day. The Buccaneers play at Green Bay. They are expected to have snow throughout the game totaling 3-5 inches.

I wanted Buffalo to win and they did, beating the Ravens 17-3. They will be in the AFC championship next week against the winner of the Browns and Chiefs. It will be the Bills’ first appearance in the conference title game since the 1993 season. The last time the Bills played in the AFC Championship Game was Jan. 23, 1994. They beat the visiting Chiefs that year to earn their fourth straight trip to the Super Bowl (a game the Bills would lose for the fourth straight year).” - ESPN

I have never heard of hoarfrost, have you? Ever since going to Yellowstone last summer, I have followed this National Park on Twitter. 

Today they posted the following:

“Hoarfrost is a winter phenomenon that occurs on cold, clear, and humid nights with little wind. The water vapor in the air skips the liquid phase and forms as a crystal, sticking to surfaces of trees, grass, and manmade structures. Where have you noticed hoarfrost?” 

I was wondering if we are going to get any bitterly cold weather this winter. We didn’t last year. It is starting to look as if the answer is no. As of the midway point of the month, we haven’t been lower than 18°. And, when I looked at the forecast for the rest of January, I did not see any daily temperatures less than 14°. Of course we must keep in mind that our all-time record low temperature in Clarion is -26° and that was the morning of Groundhog Day of 1961. We can and have experienced very cold temperatures in February.