Minus Twelve and There's a Windchill, Too

Yep, it is minus twelve degrees outside, but the windchill makes it feel like minus twenty-four. It's a mite cold out there - and my kits sniffed the air at the patio door and retreated back inside right away. Yesterday's pile of nuts doesn't look like it's been touched, so I hope that Gimpy and his clan are staying a little warm. Our Wind Chill Warning is in effect until 11 a.m., and it warns of the air feeling like -20 to -30. Last night, the Weather Advisory areas stretched over 895,000 square miles from this one storm. At least the sun is shining at the moment. I hope to take the Rs out around noon, but I don't know if I can make myself go outside in this bone-chilling, frost bite and hypothermia causing cold. The weather has caused both Acqueduct and Hawthorne Park to close their tracks for racing - it's too cold for the horses, jockeys, and employees to be safe. .... In Sterling, Connecticut a Guernsey-Jersey cross calf arrived last week. He's a nice, rich chestnut color, and on his forehead, he has an almost perfect cross of white hair. He has been named Moses - and just might escape being slaughtered for veal. .... Last April I wrote about how upset I was over the CU co-ed who taped her boyfriend's dog upside down to the refrigerator. The trial was set to start this week here in Boulder; but has now been postponed until April. Abby Toll is still charged with animal cruelty and assault, but police have dropped a tampering charge against her. Rex, the Shiba Inu, has been adopted by another family and is living out his life with a new name and two Shiba Inu buddies. .... I'm going to go scramble some eggs and broil some turkey sausage, so please enjoy your day!

View from Mount St. Helen's

A Clean Bill of Health

Yesterday I saw Dr. Ryan to get my regular high blood pressure medication renewed. The nurse took my temperature and blood pressure and pulse and weighed me. Then I saw Colleen, and since more than half of her patients were no-shows, we chatted. She noted that I hadn't had a complete physical since before Jeff's death, and talked me into getting one done. That happened at 8:20 this morning - I've gained one-half of a pound since last year's visit, and my BP was a few points higher this morning, and, as usual, my temperature was more than 2 degrees below "normal" - 96.3. Other than waiting for the blood work results, I was given a clean bill of health, even though I am overweight.

The kits snuggled closer than usual last night, thanks to a newly received afghan from Kathryn in Florida. Our high today is forecast at 11 degrees, with a low tonight of -5; and it's snowing, as well. Still the fine, dry powder type of snow - we're to get 2 to 6 inches by midnight; the mountains to the west and south will be getting 2 to 3 feet. And, as I was going out the door this morning, the weatherman stated that our storm system now has Weather Warnings, Watches, and Alerts covering over 750,000 square miles. ... Mick Kinane, the Irish jockey who rode Sea the Stars this year to a championship in Europe, is retiring along with the three-year-old colt. Summer Bird, who won the Belmont Stakes this year, has had successful surgery for a break in his left cannon bone. ... I hope to get my long-distance Christmas packages in the mail before or by Friday afternoon. I'll be writing Christmas cards tonight. ... Stay warm, comfortable, happy and safe!

Horses

A dappled Andalusian plays in his paddock



Jasmin the Lusitano wears a dropped nose-band



A champion Suffolk Punch stallion (oldest of England's draft breeds)



Big Ben is a 30+-year-old retired Belgian

Chilly and Snowing

Good morning! Fine, powdery snow is again falling; it's 3 degrees outside, with a windchill of -10. There are nuts leftover from yesterday's feeding on the patio, and the snow has now drifted so it covers three-quarters of the patio. I'll probably sweep the patio when I return from the doctor's office today. (Since it's so cold out, maybe I'll get in and out quickly today.) The kits are spending most of their time leaning on parts of me, or just plain out lying on top of me, and I'm enjoying the shared warmth. Right now, Banichi is curled up on my pillow, while Lovey is lying across my chest, causing me to type with my left hand only. I finished reading Crowner Royal last night, and am considering my choices of new books - do I want to read something contemporary, or do I feel like a historical setting? With the cold and snow, I have to admit that I've spent the majority of my time either reading, sleeping, or watching TV while wrapped in a blanket. (No matter where my thermostat is set, it doesn't get warmer than 63 inside...) Soooo... I'm about to go climb in the shower - and besides clean clothes waiting for me on the counter, there will be my very warming blow-dryer (for both my little bit of short hair, but mostly for the rest of my body!). We are hoping for highs in the teens today and tomorrow, so keep warm, and think of me.

And, as the daughter of a Navy man, please give some thought to the men and women who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor on this date in 1941. They will always be heroes.

Sere

The Moroccan Sahara on a 4x4 excursion



Near Ulanbataar in the Gobi Desert



Sand dunes in Death Valley, the Mojave Desert, California



Site of the Chauchilla cemetery on the Plains of Nazca, Peru

And the Crimson Tide Rolled...

Alabama's Crimson Tide rolled over the Gators yesterday; it was a hard game for a Gator fan to watch, but 'Bama was by far the best football team in Atlanta. - There was a nasty barn fire at the Warren County Fairgrounds in Ohio yesterday morning; two men and 60 Standardbred horses were lost. The fire is being investigated. - And the Denver Broncos' "Barrel Man", Tim McKernan, passed away in his sleep this morning at the age of 69. Tim, who appeared for many years at Broncos games dressed in a cowboy hat, boots, and a barrel with suspenders, was a member of the NFL's Fan Hall of Fame. He had been battling failing lungs for several months.

Guess what? It is cold here! And the snow is falling - still that fine powder type. We're expecting snow off and on through Tuesday night, and might reach freezing (as a high) next weekend. The forecasters say that Boulder will end up with 5 to 8 inches of snow over the next few days, but the ski resorts in the mountains will be getting 2 to 3 feet. (In comparison, I can handle the 5 to 8 inches!) The kits ran out and played and sat in the sun for about 45 minutes yesterday. Today, the snow has blown and is covering more than half of the patio, and Banichi stuck his nose out the door and retreated, while Lovey went outside, but came back in rather quickly. (It was 7 degrees outside, with a wind chill of -12.) Rosie and Remy's parents called me last night and announced they'd be over this morning to deliver a real wreath to hang on my door. I need to get the wreath hanger in place before they arrive. I've taken out the trash and gone to the store (I needed milk and a newspaper), and had breakfast. And, I'm halfway through reading Crowner Royal by Bernard Knight; I'll be taking it, or another new book, to the clinic with me tomorrow when I go to see Colleen Ryan. If they finish with me quickly, I'll try to take the Rs out before I return home - Nancy says they are going stir-crazy. I hope the rest of your weekend is relaxing!