The impact sounded like someone had thrown a heavy blanket against the cabin. The wall shuddered, but the worst wind did not reach the logs with the same force. Outside, the bundled stalks bent against their ropes. Snow packed into the spaces around them. The woman watched through a clear patch in the window until she could no longer see where the bundles ended and the storm began.
Hours later, the difference inside became clearer. The cabin was still cold near the floor, and nobody would have called it comfortable. Yet the stove was keeping up. The woman added wood, then waited longer than usual before adding more. Her daughter held out her hands toward the heat. “It’s working, isn’t it?” she asked. The woman looked at the wall. “It’s helping,” she said. She did not want to claim more than she knew.
The sunflower stalks were not making heat. They were slowing heat loss and reducing the direct blast of the wind. Snow building against the outside added another layer. The woman had hoped for exactly that. But the storm was still getting stronger. The real test was whether the bundles stayed in place until the morning.