Winter's Arrival~

 The first day of winter, was grand!  Sunshine, mid-50's & the snow from our first storm was finally melting off.  I was ready to try a walking stick in my right hand, Nika's leash in my left.

Winter flower bed~

Nika started by trying to pull me off my feet.  After some coaxing & figuring out our progress would be slow, she would take a couple steps, then wait for me to catch up!

21st. Nika by the creek~

She was just so excited for us to be going into the woods on a walk - it was fun for me too.  We made it all the way out to the Lowlands.

Looking east along Tinkle Branch~

Since she was good enough to wait for me, if she found something interesting, I would wait for her.  Holes - of course - are always interesting!

Anything down there?

I was really hoping she wouldn't scare something out!  I may still get her a retractable leash for our walks at home.  Yesterday, was another great day.  Temperatures topped out at 56°.  I put on my boots & spent the morning hobbling around the place.  A little organizing in the shed & the tack room of the horse trailer, now home to shovels & rakes.

22nd, Nika surveys her domain~

I had PT in the early afternoon.  I didn't want to take a piece out of the already too short days.  Once I was there & warmed up - I received more good news.  The bottom of my knee is now at zero!  My flexibility measured 109 cm - up four more from the 17th.  I was oh, so close to making a rotation on the bike...

12:30 p.m. today~

This morning we were 51°!  The wind picked up & with it the temperature plummeted & snow started just after noon.  Now, at 3:30 p.m. we're a whopping 19° with winds gusting to over 40mph.  I have no idea what the wind chill is, but when I went out to blow the snow off the porch, my hands were frozen in seconds!  

COLD!

Now - it's COLD!  I've been out blowing snow off the deck & porch three times so far - but with the wind coming from every direction - it's a hopeless cause!  Sub-zero is our forecast for tonight into tomorrow!