Ugh.

It's not even 22°F out there right now and that's all the warmer it's gonna get for today. Today's high temperature was 25°F at 2:30 in the AM, and it's supposed to be into the teens by lunch, on the way to single-digit temps overnight and a balmy 0°F by dawn tomorrow.

At least there's not much in the way of snow on the ground, thanks to a freak two-day excursion into the forties late last week. Of course, everything that thawed was then turned into a fine coating of black ice, causing the parking lot at the gun show to have an amazingly high bust-ass quotient.

The worst of the winter for me is when there are long stretches with snow on the ground, which means not only having to bundle up with coat and gloves and maybe scarf, but also to change from sneakers into the outside boots in the basement. This turns a stroll to the garage or to the curb to fetch the trash can into a process only slightly less involved than locking out of the International Space Station to do hull maintenance.

The thing I look forward to most about spring, after later sunsets, is the ability to swan in and out of the house in shirtsleeves and sneakers.
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