Patterdale Hall all dressed in snow. (Photo by Chris Wyatt)
The Patterdale Hall Diaries | Winter decks the Hall
- Published: March 6, 2026
By Chris Wyatt
Jan. 31, 2026
Well, we got fourteen inches of snow and brutally cold temperatures (it was -11°F at 6 a.m. this morning).
The University closed for the whole week, which has never happened in the 19 years that I have been there.
Our main sewage line froze and then un-blocked, miraculously. Then, this morning, the water lines to our kitchen froze, which is frustrating but not unexpected. Plumbers will be making a fortune when all this thaws out.
Our neighbors out at the Hall plowed our driveway, which was very generous of them. I could not have driven the Subaru through 14 inches of snow. Nor did I want to shovel a quarter mile long gravel drive by hand. Thank you, Rebecca and family.
I dislike teaching from home and can’t wait to be back at work. It sounds like it might be nice but I am constantly distracted by books, beasts and breweries. During COVID my Ph.D. student and I had special permission to be on campus, which meant Ryan could complete his final experiments and I could teach on-line without my dogs interrupting.
It was pretty post-apocalyptic on campus. Much like Chernobyl, the wildlife moved in quickly and there were herds of deer on the quad. Ryan would hand feed baby groundhogs Cheerios by the neuroscience building. It was a peaceful time.
Indeed, it was during this time that I realized I needed somewhere to retreat to and that eventually led me to Patterdale Hall.
But for now, I have to plan. We escaped the frozen sewer, but frozen pipes mean we can’t clean pots and pans. Fortunately, the water lines to the upstairs bathroom run through the middle of the house and so we do still have water, it’s just upstairs. I shall pop to Kroger in a bit and buy a plastic bowl so I can wash pots in the bath. I’ll also get more paper plates so that we can reduce the amount of things that need to be cleaned.
We never get weather this severe in the UK, it remains a novelty even after 19 years.
Feb. 4, 2026
Stasis. It remains frozen outside but we have some water in the kitchen now. Not an emergency, so I will wait for the thaw before bothering a plumber.
Patterdale Hall is icebound. There is little point being out there, as Karen’s ankle will not allow her to tramp through deep snow, and ice fills her with terror. She is crafting quietly in Yellow Springs: necklaces and brooches made from old buttons. They are beautiful.
I’m focused almost entirely on work, but will help Bob put his curriculum vitae together this afternoon. He will apply to graduate school in the next cycle, and will spend a year visiting campuses and talking to people in assorted social psychology programs. This seems sensible — he needs a job and a year out of academia will allow him to focus on what exactly he would like to do.
But I think he is keen on Rutgers University, which is exciting. They would allow him to start in the spring ’27 semester if he was accepted.
Feb. 5, 2026
A couple of days interviewing candidates for an important job in our department. This assistant professor position would also direct the undergraduate physiology and neuroscience program. It will be good to have another colleague, as we have had retirements and horizontal moves to administration that left the department weakened.
Oooh, there was an absolutely beautiful hoar frost on my way into work this morning. Trees, bushes and fields all garlanded with white and silver. Very pretty indeed. I really should get out to the Hall when this day is done. We have six more weeks of Winter predicted, so I may as well embrace it.
Pesky rodent.
Feb. 8, 2026
My wife is the Ice Queen. It snowed on her birthday and she was delighted. This delight has turned into two weeks of ice box temperatures, and when I woke up this morning it was snowing again.
Now, to be fair, its only snowing a bit and its very pretty but this is easily the longest spell of sub-freezing weather that I have experienced in my 19 years here. However, the bulk of the snow has been dealt with, roads are safe and as long as we don’t get freezing rain, we should be fine.
Well, I say “fine.” Next month’s gas bill will be the stuff of legend. As is our Yellow Springs property tax bill. The property tax bill for Patterdale Hall is four times smaller than the one for our three-bed 1,600-square-foot house in Yellow Springs. My income will likely halve when I retire, and bills like this are deeply concerning. Bills will continue to rise at a rate that outstrips my salary and then once I shift to a fixed income, we will need to make major adjustments.
Those adjustments will not include selling the extremely affordable Patterdale Hall. It is our sanctuary.
My concern for the day is to get out to the Hall and remove the liquid fertilizers that are on a shelf out there. They will have undoubtably frozen by now, and the last thing we need is a pint of liquid fish guts exploding in the living room. That would be a disaster that is difficult to mitigate. High nitrogen fish-based fertilizer is great for plants in growth phase, but terrible for book shelves covered in books.
The horror.
*Originally from Manchester, England, Chris Wyatt is an associate professor of neuroscience, cell biology and physiology at Wright State University. He has lived in Yellow Springs for 19 years, is married and has two children and an insane Patterdale terrier. “The Patterdale Hall Diaries,” by Chris Wyatt, is now available in book format via Amazon for $11.99.
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