Cold Weather and All That.

Well yesterday the thermometer read -4 F or -20 C.  That was without any 'wind chill' factor.  If I'd looked that up I may not have gone out for a walk with Morris.

Morris enjoyed getting out in the woods after being cooped up for several days while I was out of town visiting.

He probably put on twice the mileage that I did.  Of course it is his duty to sniff and 'mark' anything of interest that he can find.
Twice he buried his face in the snow trying to sniff out mice.

We hiked down into the creek bottom again.  It wasn't bad there.  We were out of the wind, but in the shadows of the hillside.

Ice and snow formations are making the creek a bit more interesting than the last few visits.

Here is a shot of the same spot in the beginning of November:

And another spot further down the creek.

Unfortunately, Morris got pretty cold waiting for me to set up the tripod and  making some attempts as some longer exposures of the little falls.
He started to quake and shiver.
Of course it could have been the fresh coyote tracks that were in the snow, or the fact that he'd been walking in the creek... and then the snow.

He climbed onto my lap where I was sitting, waiting for the 15 second exposure finish.
I realized that the poor ol' guy was just plain cold.

So after a few quick shots, I picked him up and carried him back to our ridge road.


Then it was time to run water into the stock tank and drain the hoses.  Everyone was sunbathing and snoozing except the elder mules in the pen nearest the house.

Last thing before going in was to take down the laundry I'd hung out before talking my walk.  The clothes had mostly 'freeze dried'.  
They smelled wonderful.

I opened the door and the scents of the roast I was cooking greeted me.
Nice to come indoors and have delicious smells!

Morris immediately took a nap on the couch.  I hung up some items that were not yet dry.

Cold weather is hard on machinery and it makes most of the chores seem to take forever.  But I don't mind the cold as much as I dislike extreme heat.

According to the National Weather Service, it is going to get colder today, not warmer.
I'm glad I walked with my neighbor this morning.
We had a lovely pre dawn walk.