I woke up to -12 degrees at 7:30 this morning. It will get colder before it gets warmer. They're predicting -14 tonight and -17 on Sunday night. However, it could be worse - I could live in International Falls where it will be -29 tonight and -31 on Sunday.
To be honest, though, most of us Minnesotans take a certain amount of pride in temperatures like these. Yes, it's cold, but it's not like this all the time - this type of cold only happens once or twice in a winter.
When it's more than (less than?) -5, Dexter the dog gets to dress up for the cold. He gets two walks a day, rain or shine, -10 or 100 degrees. Most of the time, his walks are about 30 minutes. However, when the temperature is on the extremes - below 0 or above 95 - we cut it down to about 10-15 minutes.
Here he is this morning with his fleece coat and leather-bottomed boots. We only use the boots if it's below 0 and if there isn't too much snow. If there is more than about 6" of snow, he will tend to run in the woods and get snow inside the boots, which causes his feet more problems than if he was just "barefoot." The coat is because he only has one layer of fur, and the fur on his belly is pretty sparse. I also use the coat when it's snowing hard - it reduces time to dry him off before going back in the house.
From a people perspective, we also tend to be a bit more careful about what we do outside. Besides bundling up - hats, scarves and gloves are required attire when it's below 0 - we will tend to do fewer things outside. For example, the St. Paul Winter Carnival is happening this weekend, but the big parade has a shorter route. However, cold weather won't stop us from living our lives. The Winter Carnival's softball-on-ice tournament might have been canceled, but the sled dog rally, snowshoe race, skijoring and fireworks are still on.
Personally, I pre-planned a weekend indoors. I went to the grocery store on Wednesday night and took Friday off from work. My plans include reading, vegetable garden planning and seed ordering. I've already finished Two Gardeners, the February selection for the Garden Blogger's Book Club. I know Spouse's plans include bottling the Belgian Witbier he brewed a few weeks ago and watching the Super Bowl.
But even below-zero temperatures can't stop us from enjoying the bright blue sky, the chirping chickadees and nuthatches, and the scolding squirrels outside. I just keep remembering that we gain 1 hour and 23 minutes of daylight during February, so spring can't be too far away.
