Hibernation Nation

This is the top of our hill looking down from our house.
It's what we have to travel down to escape in the winter.

I have decided beyond the shadow of a doubt that I am a fair weather person.  By fair weather I mean, over 70 degrees, bright sunshine, with as little humidity as possible.  My favorite place to be is the beach or near some body of water (a pool can qualify) on a nice day.

I've come to this conclusion in the last several days while cleaning out my horse stalls in freezing weather.

I try to make this experience as energizing as possible.  First, I tell myself that I have the benefit of doing weight bearing activities, which keeps me young, builds muscles and bone density.  Guiding a wheelbarrow full of muck the necessary distance to the manure pile, lifting water buckets, hay bales, shoveling bedding...all this helps me stay away from the gym and barbells.  I hate barbells, and videos with barbells or hand weights.  The elipse has nothing on a morning in the barn.

I also have oldies on the radio channel in the barn, and I sing my way through morning chores.  The chickens look at me sideways, but I think they get it, because while I'm singing to the oldies, they are bedding down in the sawdust in the aisle and doing their daily cleaning/dusting routine.

I visualize past days on the beach in sunny weather, lounging and reading a good book.

Summers in Rehoboth, DE offers night sites like this one.

Not even the dogs want to stay out beyond a certain threshold time in frigid temps.  Today it was 6 degrees in the morning, and Burton was holding his paw up like it would fall off from the cold at 01:01 minutes into the outside activity.  Winston lost his mind and was actually trying to play with a green ball to stay warm.  In they came, where they immediately grabbed all the warm seating as if to say "please don't bother us until it's at least 40 degrees out there."

The cats go out the front door and within seconds appear at that back patio to come in.  They never believe what we have to say, because, well, they are cats and have to "experience" it for themselves.  They don't have really good memories either because within a half hour we are repeating the revolving door scenario.

I know that layers are the up and coming trend in fashion, but I don't think the industry was thinking of my layering schemata when they started marketing those pretty camis with lace that go under a shirt.  Here's the must wear barn gear:  underarmour or cuddle duds (tops and bottoms), zocks lining socks, wool socks over the zocks, turtleneck, light layering sweater, heavy wool sweater, jeans, fingerless wool gloves (the ones with the mitten covers), fuzzy hat, jacket.  Sometimes, if things are really bad, the carhart bibs come out and go over the jeans and sweater layers, then the jacket.

Oh yeah...this would be warm.

In fact, now that I'm on the subject, if you look in a fashion catalog where they are selling winter wear, sometimes you will see a lovely model dressed in a down vest with a wool patterned sweater, hat and gloves doing some outdoor activity like walking a dog or holding a horse on a lead rope, or sitting on porch rail holding a cup of what I always think is hot chocolate.  She is smiling and happy and looks warm despite there being major snow in that photo.  My thought is this...please have her do a few horse stalls in 6 degree weather and then ask her to pose.  That will tell us two things:  (1) does that clothing really keep you warm? and (2) how much does she REALLY like winter?

We've been lucky in Pennsylvania to date.  Very little snow.  Above average temperatures.  So why am I complaining?  I'm complaining because I can.  Because I'm not a winter person anymore.  Yes, I ski.  Yes, I go see ice sculptures. Yes, I make snowmen sometimes, and snow balls, and enjoy the first romp in the snow with over excited dogs.  Yes, I like seeing our horses prance in the powdery snow when it first falls in mass quantities.  Yes, I've even taken trail rides in the first snow fall of the season.  But now I look at that person like some crazy lunatic part of me that I don't even know.

I need some dry/arid climate that holds a temperature of about 70 - 88 non-humid degrees in the summer and 40-50 in the winter.  All suggestions welcome.  I'm off to put on another layer and take the dogs out for their one minute pee break.

Aaarrrooooo!