Posts Tagged ‘cold paws’
Chilly Sunrise
When the air temperature is below zero (F) and there is a fog of ice crystals in the air of our valley, the rising rays create sun dogs of reflection 180° apart. Those conditions were met yesterday while I was feeding the horses.
When Delilah and I walked to the end of the driveway to put outgoing mail in the mailbox, our vantage changed so the sun was behind the pine trees on our neighbor’s land. I walked across the road to get the telephone pole out of frame, but I didn’t notice the wires were still in the shot. Oh, well.
Still looks pretty cool.
In fact, it was downright COLD! Poor Delilah was hopping along on three legs every so often to give a paw a break. Eventually, she resorted to simply running and pulling me along behind her to get back to the house, and her breakfast, as quickly as possible.
If ever there was a way to feel like a load, trudging along behind a dog that urgently wants to run faster than you can is pretty high on the list. Being a little numb and wearing the equivalence of a spacesuit with lead-weight boots does wonders to enhance the impression.
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Winter Slippers
It’s about that time of year when I gush about my favorite boots for playing in the snow. For the most incredible comfort and warmth that I have experienced in a winter boot, I wear Steger Mukluks. It’s like going outside wearing slippers.
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That slipper-like comfort is actually one of the key reasons they keep my feet so warm. There is absolutely no constriction of blood flow in my feet because the boot surrounds my foot without compressing at any point. It almost feels like walking barefoot in the snow. Except for the part where my feet stay warm.
I’m also particularly fond of being able to just step into them and being ready to go. There is an adjustment strap at the ankle and a drawstring at the top, for occasions that call for additional constraint, but I rarely change either of them. I set them once and am able to slip my feet in and out with ease.
Wearing my mukluks to walk Delilah and explore off-trail is a sublime winter expedition through our woods.
Watching the sun fade behind the barn revealed the shiny frozen coating on the branches of our trees, a function of the frequent misty sleet that has been mixed in with our snowstorms of late.
A few hours after that picture was taken, we were out again for her last chance to pee for the night and I stopped on the high point of the driveway between the north pasture and the hay-field to stare up into the brilliant blanket of stars overhead.
Despite the clear night bringing the temperature down below 0°(F), I could have stood there for hours in my trusty old winter slippers, because my feet were perfectly comfortable.
It was Delilah who wanted to get back to the house. Too bad she refuses to wear doggie mukluks of her own. She does stand out on those bitterly cold surfaces with bare feet.
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Relative Something 