The wind has been whipping it to feel even colder... like 30-40 degrees below zero.
I've been finding all sorts of things to do... INSIDE!Like clearing off the top of my desk! (Actually, I've crammed all the papers and stuff into bags that I plan to organize someday.)
But the horses need to be fed... so that means I have to go outside morning and night.
Also, one horse needs extra feed and medication, so a mid day trip is scheduled too.
Tonight I put on my winter mask and hat and snowmobile suit and headed outside.
Because I have to use a syringe to squirt the meds into Fiero's mouth, I have to take off my mitten. He decides that he doesn't want it and that means my hand gets even colder as we manuever it into his mouth.
I'm trying to warm up my hand on the way to the hillside pasture to feed some other horses. I find I have to take off my mitten again to get the right amount of supplements for them and afterwards I unzip my snomobile suit to stick my hand in my armpit to warm it up a bit.
The trouble is that the cold wind also gets inside my suit.
Heading to get the hay and loading it on the sled and tossing it over the fence means that I am getting jittery cold.
Before I head back to finish the chores at the first shed, I decide to check the automatic waterers.
Sure enough... one of them was frozen over.
This could mean getting a propane torch and/or hair dryers to heat up the pipes and generally is a pretty miserable job.
Not having felt well most of the day, I was weakening fast.
I considered shedding a few tears but then I realized that they would probably just freeze on my cheeks and that would be worse.
I headed back to the house to warm up.
I put on another winter jacket over my snomobile suit (it's amazing I could still move all bundled up like this!) and headed back outside.
I finished the chores and went to the hillside pasture with the frozen waterer. Using a pliars to open it up I found it was still heating. That's good.
Perhaps the wind temp was so cold that it had just frozen over. I cracked the ice and tossed it out.
I'll check again in the morning.
Back in the house I'm warming up with a glass of wine.
And the husband calls on the phone and asks: "When's dinner?"
Hmmmmm.
