Sometimes all there is to do is say what is: I am tired from a week of caring for our sick 1-year-old son. He is doing better, but after five days of diarrhea (with vomiting on the first three of those days), I want him to be well NOW!

Two visits to the doctor have reassured us that he is not dangerously ill. We’ve kept him hyrdrated, and he’s getting better.

When do I receive my medal for being a good parent? : )

As Barack Obama walked out of halls of the U.S. Capitol and into the cheers of the crowd at his inauguration as president on Tuesday, I felt pride and relief about this significant change for our county, about the trust we have placed in a man of African descent. The road to the height of political power – the road to the height of respect, no less – has been a long one for African Americans.

And I feel no small amount of relief that Obama has replaced George W. Bush. Suffice it to say that I feel my values and views on the environment, foreign policy, the economy, science, health care, and more are much closer to those of President Obama than they are to those of President Bush.

Though the economic news is dire, the political news coming out of Washington is better for the moment. And I’m reassured by Obama’s calm demeanor as he deals with the economic mess left by nearly 30 years of Reaganism. Onward with good government, which is a necessary and valuable part of our world and a precondition for a good market economy.

We’ve gotten even lower than yesterday morning: minus 29 degrees (F). This time it’s confirmed by the same temp at Stanton Airfield.

Stayed inside yesterday, but must go out today. This is one of those times I appreciate my car.

Our thermometer read minus 28F this morning. I looked at it for a while to make sure I was reading it right. Nearby Stanton Airfield reports that it was 24 below. Northfield Public Schools are closed today.

These are the coldest temperatures I’ve experienced since moving back to Minnesota in 2004. The coldest temperature I remember from Minnesota winters before that is minus 35 at my parents’ house in suburban Minneapolis.

It was about minus 5 yesterday afternoon here in Northfield. I’m not particularly hardy in the cold, and I have to bundle up. So  when driving my daughter to and from preschool I wore three layers on my legs – two layers of long underwear underneath flannel-lined khakis – and four layers on top, including a fleece jacket underneath a down coat. I also had on two pairs of Smartwool socks inside insulated boots. On my hands I wore thin gloves that I wear underneath mittens. The gloves allow me to do fine work such as buckling children into car seats and fishing keys out of pockets.

While downtown I ran into a friend and fellow member of our local Task Force on Nonmotorized Transportation, Dan Kust, who was getting off his bike. He bikes to his job as a teacher at Northfield Middle School and is a mountaineer and outdoorsman. “You’re amazing, Dan,” I said. I asked him how it was out there. “Brutal,” he said, noting the toll the cold takes on the hands and feet.

Next week we will warm up, with highs above freezing – 60 degrees warmer than this morning!

It’s minus 23 F right now according to my thermometer and the Stanton Airfield weather station. Their three-day summary shows that the temp has been dropping steadily and may fall even lower. Wind chill is minus 37 F!

Q: What does Al Gore produce when he plays the bongos?

A: Algorithms.

I recently finished reading Dante’s Inferno for the first time. Normally I read the Bible for my brief devotional time in the morning, but this time I decided a change was in order. I resolved to read Dante’s classic epic poem.

I don’t have time to comment fully on the poem and Robert Pinsky’s translation, but I will note two things. First, besides being an inquiry into hell and the sins that create it, the poem is a remarkable look at Dante’s time and place – medieval Italy. The politics and history of Italian city states is fascinating as well as frightening. With endless warring, intrigues, scheming, and treachery, their history is not for the squeamish. It makes me wonder if that isn’t the normal way of the world, while the settled peace I’m accustomed to during my lifetime here in the United States is the exception.

Secondly, down at the heart of hell, the temperature is not hot. Instead it’s very cold, and the tormented souls are encased in ice.

Most people would seem to agree that the cold is a kind of hell on earth, though I try not to be one of them. Something to think about during this cold Upper Midwestern winter.

I took the photo above during a recent cross-country ski outing that took me around the periphery of St. Olaf College on New Year’s Day. As I was taking photos of Regents Hall, St. Olaf’s impressive new science center,  I realized that the sky was fabulous that day.

I like the sky’s deep blueness in the center of the photo and its wispy clouds. The sky here says something to me about possibilities, about the wonders that exist near us and to which we are normally oblivious.

I’m glad I was able to get out on my skis, get some exercise, appreciate the natural scenery near our home, and take some photos. I’m thankful that I was able to start out the new year in this way.

See another photo of Regents Hall below.