You Know It's Cold Out When...
Picture this:
You're snug in your warm house but you want to walk to the end of the lane for your mail. You get your winter socks, hat, mitts...etc on until you feel like you're a penguin, then you step outside a few feet from the house.
You breathe in and the sharpness bites your nostrils. The wind brings tears to your eyes which is scary because your eyeballs feel like they're freezing. You pool a gob of spit in the bottom of your mouth then spew it out in a ball. It crackles and shatters into hundreds of slivers halfway to the ground.
You know it's cold outside. So, you take those few steps back to the house, go inside and close the door. And by the time you've unbundled yourself, you bow your head and thank God that you didn't get locked out.
But, you feel more alive than you ever thought possible. Now, that's cold.
.
You're snug in your warm house but you want to walk to the end of the lane for your mail. You get your winter socks, hat, mitts...etc on until you feel like you're a penguin, then you step outside a few feet from the house.
You breathe in and the sharpness bites your nostrils. The wind brings tears to your eyes which is scary because your eyeballs feel like they're freezing. You pool a gob of spit in the bottom of your mouth then spew it out in a ball. It crackles and shatters into hundreds of slivers halfway to the ground.
You know it's cold outside. So, you take those few steps back to the house, go inside and close the door. And by the time you've unbundled yourself, you bow your head and thank God that you didn't get locked out.
But, you feel more alive than you ever thought possible. Now, that's cold.
.
Aw hon! That's cold. My first two years in Minnesota, I didn't have a winter coat. Heck, no coat at all, no long underwear, no mittens. I had a zip up hoodie and a turtle neck. I think I owned one sweater and no snow boots, just tennis shoes. I remember my nose hairs freezing when I got out of the car for class (college), the air BURNING down my throat, making me cough as it went, and the sting in my lungs. I also remember running. A. Lot.
ReplyDeleteYeah, yeah...that's it! Thanks, Kel.
ReplyDeleteYou. Are. Kidding.
ReplyDeleteNo way. Seriously, Anita? Freezing halfway to the ground?
Incredible. Now that IS cold...and I feel like a wimp for complaining about -10. LOL
Hey Gwen - no guff. I really have been that cold. It happens at -50C/-58F which we hit about 3 yrs ago. Because of the extreme cold, our momma goats decided to go into self-preservation mode. They dropped their kids early - and walked away. A few days after New Years and we had 2 sets of playpens set up between the porch and the kitchen with a total of 10 or was it 11 - kids inside. The preemie kids that needed tube feeding were in the smaller playpen and I remember one of the bigger kids (7 lbs) from the other pen kept jumping out and exploring.
ReplyDeleteEvery hour or 2, I had to get all bundled up and make the 200 ft trek down to the barn to see if there were any new kids lying in the straw. I did this 24/7 for 2 wks.
Yeah, your spit'll snap and disintegrte before it hits the ground. The thing I didn't mention was even around -45C/-49F like we had 3 or 4 times already this winter, just a few mins outside and your jackets is stiff and crackling like it's gonna break.
Yesterday morning, my son went out to start the van, put all the heaters, etc on blast and still when we got in 30 mins later, the seat was as hard as a wooden board.
But like I say, you sure feel alive.
Thanks for stopping by. I've missed you. And if you are complaining about -10 weather, then you are a wimp. 8-)
The frozen tundra gets freakishly cold. Black ice is murder in Minnesota. I can only imagine you have the same issues farther north?
ReplyDelete