Bright sunshine lured me outside in just a jacket this morning where I was promptly mugged

[Atticus]

by the knife-wielding wind!


It nearly emptied my stash of warm and bit my ears before finding an opening that funneled it past my collar and down my neck. One lap around the meadow was enough to send me inside where I traded the jacket for a thermal vest, lined chore coat, a muffler, stocking cap and moose hide mittens.

Properly attired, I resumed my walk and this time was able to laugh at wind chill.

There is very little---weatherwise---that can keep me inside for long. Inside may offer safety and warmth, but outside offers vibrant life and one can't get too much of that.

"Always stay close to Nature"---wise advice from the man I was privileged to call "DAD".

[SheltieLover]

1. Your Dad was a wise man!

[Faux pas]

2. I

live on 1.8 acres in the middle of the forest with a river right across the a country road. Mother Nature nourishes my soul daily. I am one lucky chick!

[MacKasey]

3. You got me

Saw your post and oh no

Then read the rest, nice short story

34 in VT and snowing, not windy

[Siwsan]

4. I took a quick 'tour of the estate' as my Dad used to say.

Walked to the back lot to see how many limbs there were on the ground and if I was bothered enough to gather them. I wasn't.

Replenished the straw and leaves in the Feral's little shelter. Checked the mail box.

Then came inside to make a big bowl of hot chicken noodle soup, made with homemade broth. Lovely.

[2naSalit]

5. I was worried for a moment!

But I hear what you're saying. I live on a hill near the base of a mountain pass and it is windy 360 days of the year. today it's in the low 20s with a 35mph wind with higher gusts, all loaded with snow to blast away any skin that might be exposed.

This morning though, there were lots of sirens blaring somewhere down the hill, a couple blocks away, I guess. I finally went out to see if I could make out where it was after the second fanfare of sirens revealed the Jaws of Life vehicle trying to turn around on one of the lower streets, obscured by the houses in between. For some reason the city only likes to plow and sand one of twenty streets in the whole neighborhood and they send a grader up her when the rich folks at the top can't get down the hill through the snow drifts. My guess is a couple cars trying to descend the hill met at one of the intersections and one went down the embankment, a steep one, or they made contact and plowed into a house or something. I wasn't going to go beyond the street corner to see, too windy and cold, even with proper gear, I wasn't into the expedition mode of it.

[calimary]

6. So was I!

[cilla4progress]

7. Absolutely!

Nature is my balm.

Your walk sounds lovely, Atticus!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. I advise wearing pants outside, not just a jacket. . . nt

[wnylib]

9. Winter sun is so deceptive.

[barbtries]

10. i did the same thing.

took my dawg for a walk thinking it's not so bad, i can just leave on my shorts and put on my sweatshirt. mistake.

[GreenWave]

11. As we used to say, The hawk is out there (for biting cold)

[mnhtnbb]

12. Years of early morning dog walking

has trained me to check the weather (temp) on my phone before venturing outside. Even though it's been over two years I've been without a dog, I still check the weather before going out for a walk.

Watching radar when rain was expected saved us from getting soaked many times by getting ourselves out before the rain hit.

God, I miss my sweet girl, except when it's cold and rainy and there's no way we would be able to avoid having to go for a walk in lousy weather!

[CaptainTruth]

13. I considered wearing long pants today, but nah, I'm in shorts.

There are certainly things about Florida I hate (like the politicians) but the winter weather isn't one of them.