So Cool...

Yes, I still like winter. But I think I like it in a different way than other folks do.

When I had to wear a skirt and heels to work, I hated winter. When I lived in urban areas, I disliked winter and cold. After all, the snow was pretty for a few hours, then the snowplows came through. Where I lived when I was young, the city had garbage trucks double as plows. 

Once in a while the city drivers would plow a car's side. That was winter in the city. Folks would dig out their parking spot and deposit a chair in their place on the street when they left. The chair was a way of reserving your spot and hard work. It didn't always work.

When I moved where I am now in 1996 all of that changed and the seasons somehow became more interesting. 

I became a winter lover. A person who loves the cold and the snow. 

I learned how to be comfortable in a rather hostile environment. Believe me, it does take a bit of prep. For me, it is worth it as I can see things that most others don't.

I also live in an area where I can avoid the winds that chill a person through to the bone. The valleys provide warm sunny areas out of the winds even when it is well below freezing.

I stopped by the ice wall which is growing by leaps and bounds. Ground water seeps out of the top of the rock and sandstone and freezes as it makes its way towards the creek below.

The sun was bright and the light reflected off the ice was bluish. On other days it is more dull with other colors depending on how much soil and sand it has gathered.

I hiked out of the valley and into the bright sunlight. I found a spot out of the wind and sat in the snow just to listen and observe. I could hear a chickadee in the forest and a red tail hawk.

I'll tell you a little secret. I found that if I wear my goggles with my glasses on, the glasses fog up. So I take the glasses off and stick them in my camera bag. The dark lenses of the goggles protect my eyes from the glare of the snow.

I can see well enough in the distance and what I am walking over that the lack of the glasses isn't bad at all. 

There I was sitting when the hawk soared over me. I pulled out my camera and stuck it to my eye. There was no time to pull out my glasses, so I depended on the cameras Autofocus:

Not too bad.

I'd done the same thing when I saw a deer while walking in the creek. Mind you, it isn't a perfect shot, but considering I did it without any visual aids other than knowing I'd placed the AF focus point directly in the middle:

For close up work or menu adjustments, I need those glasses on. However, it was pleasing to see that the AF worked better than I thought it would. 

Cold weather is not for everyone. However we grew up playing in it.

Me age?

It takes a certain kind of nut to enjoy the cold.

Wednesday is supposed to be 39 or 40? Eeeks!

Time to get out the shorts!

Chillin'

I'm not going to complain too much about this cold spell. I've been able to get out and about in the big chill and not really suffer much.

We are got pretty cold over night but I am a bit luckier than those who live on flat lands or on the ridges.

We have the bone chillin' cold, but we miss some of the light wind. Perhaps it doesn't feel so bad? I don't know yet. The air temp outside my door is -15 F. I'm going to wait until the sun shines into our hollow before heading out to do the chores. 

Yesterday I did walk to the ridge with Charlie to get the mail in the morning. My coveralls didn't offer enough wind protection. 

I got cold heading back down the hill. Charlie stopped and asked to be picked up.

I went back out later with a different set of winter clothes and was super comfortable.

Charlie did not go with me.

He said he wouldn't wear the Goggles nor would he get dressed up at all.

'Give me a cookie and go out on your own dorky strange Human! I shall stay right here and protect the couch from invaders!'

Oversized Goggles for glasses are great eye/face protectors. All these years I've worn them with my glasses and have always been irritated that the glasses fog up. Now I carry my glasses in a case in my pocket and hike without glasses. I can see clearly enough to walk without glasses. 

It really helps keep my eyes from getting windburn and the masks I have keep most of my face warm. I am always pulling it down to grab a gulp or two of cold air.

I made it to the ridge to look around the area I like to watch the winter sun come up.

There were dozens of deer beds by next to the small copse of trees. It made sense as the deer could sleep out of the wind and keep an eye on the open land before them.

The light winds were still blowing the snow around and the air was filled with very fine snow. I decided to head back home through the woods to avoid the coldest air.

I followed some well made formed deer trails and once out of the sun it just was plain cold on my cheeks even with the face mask.

I sat with my back to the light breeze and studied the Barberry bushes. They litter this part of the forest. They are invasive but enchanting in the cold harsh days of winter with their tiny red berries.

Man o' man my face did freeze off by the time I got home! 

I spent the rest of the day warming up.

So Friday morning it was -14, when I went out to do chores. The wind chill was supposed to be colder. However it was from a different direction and I never got cold! Go figure.

I like crisp air. I don't like --it'll--freeze--your-lungs--air-- but I don't mind my mask which warms my breath.

And...

NO bugs!

This is me heading out to the creek around noon. It was up to something like 4 by then and the mules were all laying around taking turns sleeping in the sun.

Lazzzy critters!

I wanted to check the ice wall and see if the creek froze over. In places where the water moves slowly it has but in other spots the warm springs keep the water open.

Spring water keeping the ice thin:

Watering hole further up the creek in a sunny spot. Tracks are coyote, 'possum, deer, and mice all mashed together. 

Ice Wall

Frost on the moss and grasses from the moisture given off by the springs

This is why the creek and my daily walks are so important to me. The going can get rough in the cold weather with deep snow, but still it is worth it!

Yesterday afternoon I sat on a rock and listened to a very quiet woods. Eventually I was able to watch some deer browsing further down the valley.

A good chillin' day.

It was perfect.

Today I am headed off to guide/hike with my buddy Bill as we start our Trail Challenge and meet up with Jason [the geologist] and his dog Piper. 

It should make for an interesting hike!

Chilly

Hey Lady! Where is my Treat??

Little Richard was frosty yesterday morning as were most of the critters. The cows lay in their thick layers of fodder bedding and chewed their cuds awaiting the sun to make its appearance through the trees and into the valley.

I always am amazed by the wonderful winter coats these animals have.

You can see where I shoved my bare hand up through his coat to feel the downy hair underneath. No, he was not shivering. He was not cold at all. He has shelter from the weather and he chooses to be out.

People however have a harder time with the cold. It was actually better this particular morning as their was no wind.
I dug out Rich's subzero coveralls for him. After all, it was about -4 when we did chores.

He was going to hook up the hose to the hydrant so we could water the large heated stock tank.
I have taken to wearing over the glasses snowmobile goggles. It may look stupid, but the comfort is incredible. And my eyes don't feel windburned at all. I find that with this 'get up', I can take the cold and the chilling winds.

I wish I could put on Little Richard's coat!

Morris came out with me for a while when I was filling the big stock tank. He ran back and forth sniffing and looking, I think, for mice until he started to shiver. When he got cold he ran to the porch door and stared at me intently.
I let him in and he stopped as if to say, "Why are you not coming in?"
But the sun was shining so brightly  ~ and I was toasty warm.
Besides, I had to drain the hoses after the tank fill so they wouldn't freeze up.

And the sky was simply amazing.

Today it is supposed to snow some light fluffy stuff and then we may go back to some rather arctic temperatures for the weekend.
I have my Kenosha Gang arriving some time on Friday and they want to hike. They all recently got goggles to protect their eyes from the cold also.
We have some ice formations to seek out at the KVR. I've scouted out the trails and we will be out of the winds.
The temperatures should make for some incredible ice formations also.

Just after I finished with the watering, Sunshine came up. I grabbed her bridle and we took another spin around the pastures and yard. It is an easy way to check fences!

You can just barely see the house in this shot.

Have a great day.