Breathtaking

This week saw lots of very cold temperatures at this little place here.

seriously cold weather 

The above picture was actual air temperature on a dead calm morning.  We had several days of warmer air temps, but high winds that made the wind chill equal to this reading.

Did we stay indoors, quivering in our socks, because it was rather bitterly cold outside?

No.  We bundled up, and life continued as usual. Which, for me, meant about 6 consecutive hours outside or in an unheated barn.  

Was I cold?

Not a bit.  I was dressed for the weather, with the exception of the first really cold day when I forgot to bring a scarf to cover my mouth and nose with.  That day my face felt the minus 20 Fahrenheit every time I went outside; my nose hairs froze and honestly, the cold was breathtaking--literally making it hard to breathe.  But the second and consecutive days, I wore my scarf when out in the wind.  And I was warm; even sweaty at times.

me, made anonymous for privacy (in other words, I replaced my face with a drawing),

 in my toasty warm below zero wear

The cold was breathtaking in other ways, too: it made for some gloriously sunny and clear weather. The blues of the sky, the pristine white of the snow, the sparkling trees on a frosty morning, all were so beautiful you could say they took my breath away.

One afternoon that the high temperature was exactly one degree above zero, and the wind was only barely blowing, DH and I trimmed the trees around the yard and garden. Every late winter, we trim them up so that they grow in the manner we want them to, eliminate weak branches, and cut off any that hang low enough to whack us in the head while driving the lawn mower or tractor beneath them, or scrape on the roof of the truck. We need to do this because thirteen years ago, when we bought this little place here, there were no trees on the front 2/3 of the property except those near the road frontage.  Every tree around the house, bordering the garden, lining the 'road' between front yard and front field (our access road to the garden and the south road that goes to the woods), near the barn, behind the septic mound, etc, has been planted or begun from seed since the Spring of 2002; and as young trees, need an annual pruning to train them into nice and sturdy trees.

removing lowest branches

ornamental cherry near the garden, after trimming

trimmed branches in the 'road' between front yard and front field

tracks in the packed snow;

small fir tree in left of picture is actually about 2-foot tall.

Honestly, below zero is pretty much below zero.  If you are dressed right, and are moving around, twenty below doesn't feel any different than ten below, and ten below doesn't really feel any colder than zero itself.  Dress right, and do not fear the cold; go out and enjoy it, either recreationally or checking outdoor tasks off the to-do list.