Is it COLD, or just Cold?

It was going to be cold, the weather man announced in central California.  The overnight low would be -1 Celsius.
Meanwhile, back home in Alberta, it was really cold.  Something like -35 Celsius.

We got caught up in the TV announcer's hype.  The oranges we were keeping cool outside came in.  I put on my bed socks and an extra shirt for the night.  Our little heater ran steadily instead of being turned on in the wee hours.
"Do you think we need to keep the water running?" asked my better half.
"No, we'll just flush the toilet occasionally during the night," I replied.

Around 5:30 am I was wakened by a weird sound, like a huge vibration.  It wasn't the usual early morning traffic noise. What's that?  I tried to analyze it.  Is it the floor heater, straining?  Is it the furnace in the neighbouring trailer?  |Actually it sounded like a helicopter close by.  Oh!  I know!  It's the wind machine in the orchard!  Across the road is an orange orchard, and the sound was the blades whirring, or maybe it was the fan, that sucks up the rising warm air over the orange trees, so the blossoms don't freeze.

The orange orchard across the road

All of a sudden, this "cold" wasn't so amusing any longer.  It's was a question of someone's livelihood.

Interesting how perspective changes everything.

Orchards surround the Gleanings for the Hungry base