Saturday, January 27, 2007

Report from the Charles River as Bitter Cold Sets In

In Cambridge and on the Charles River we are undergoing a very cold snap.

Temperatures starting Thursday, January 25, have dropped to single digits with bitter winds. A warm up is anticipated today, Saturday, January 27.

On Thursday and Friday mornings the Charles River White Geese were in free water off the Goose Meadow in the cold morning. Much if not most of the rest of the Charles River was either frozen or had at least a thin coating of ice.

They are happily swimming in that freezing water for two reasons. One is that they love their water. The other is that, although they have their goose down jackets, the water is quite a bit warmer than the air.

When the water freezes, they stay in the goose meadow and sleep as much as possible, storing their energy. This is the way of free animals.

After a freeze, the White Geese will eagerly seek out thawed parts of the river for happy play.