I hate being a wimp!

Yesterday it was 20 degrees with a 15 mph north wind. The high was 36. This morning, it is 16 degrees with the high forecast for 32. All this coming week the lows are to be in the mid to high teens with daily highs in the low to mid thirties. I thought we moved to the "Sun Belt?"

As you have gathered from earlier posts, cold weather no longer agrees with me. Actually, it is the wind as much as the cold that is a problem. Gusting north winds makes being outdoors miserable. We live on a ridge overlooking a valley that is several miles long (running
north-to-south). The valley becomes a wind tunnel when the north winds blow. Often, the gusts will reach 25+ mph. I blame the Yankees (no, not the baseball team) for these gusts. They want to share their misery with all of us who live in the "Sun Belt."

Instead of my five one-half hour walks with Fred, I have been only taking him out four times a day. When it is this cold, however, we are down to two or three walks a day. By the time I return from our walks my left thumb no longer works at all and my fingers do not function very well either. It is difficult to unhook the top button on your jeans without a working thumb. Moreover, it is almost impossible to button a shirt or hold a glass of water in my left hand for about an hour after returning from a walk. Yes, I use "hot hands' inserted in my choppers. Even although they help, they do not do enough good when the temperatures are this cold. To make matters worse, my legs do not work very well either after these outings.

I asked my wife if she wanted to take Fred for a walk this morning. Even though I was only kidding (maybe not), she declined. Some people, including my wife, have commented that I should not take Fred out when it is this cold. In my opinion, that is not the answer. How do I explain to my best friend (BFF) that I think it is too cold to go for a walk? He knows it is cold, but he likes his walks because his olfactory system starts working overtime. The beagle is second only to the bloodhound in its capabilities to follow a scent. When the ground is cold, and especially if there is a frost, Fred goes crazy. If we did not go for walks, I would be depriving him of one of his true joys in life (the other is eating). This morning, as soon as Fred ate, he jumped into the golf cart and was ready to go. When I told him we had to wait until it warmed up a little, he jumped down, nudged my legs with his front paws, and then jumped back into the cart. Talk about putting a guilt trip for me!

Yes, I know I was born and raised in Minnesota and up there these conditions would be considered spring-like. And, yes, I use to hunt, camp, ice skate, ski and fish in temperatures far worse than this. None of that matters today. I AM A WIMP and I do not like it one bit.

In keeping with my promise to "see the good in all things," I have found something favorable with this situation. In about sixty days, the average temperature will be in the 50's and 60's again. I just need to start a "short-timers" calendar and begin crossing off the days. Before I know it, Fred and I will be frolicking in spring-like temperatures again. Until the weather warms up, I will have to put up with these temperatures. I am not going to say another word about the cold (not complain …right, let's see if I can keep that promise).

I will sign off for now. We will talk again soon (it is hard telling how long that will be because my fingers need to thaw out first),

The WIMP