It was very cold last night, but we are fortunate to have the wherewithal to cope with cold. I remember suffering terribly on frigid days, when I was younger. In 1987, I was introduced to coveralls up in northern Galena, Illinois, where it gets almost arctic. I was astonished at what a difference a “green suit”, as they called them, made. I am still wearing that venerable green suit, on its last legs this winter. Thirty five years, though, is a pretty good run for hard used winterwear.
Even more effective, I learned on a river trip about 15 years ago about merino wool clothing. Icebreaker merino wool long underwear has changed my life on cold days. Add to that alpaca socks and a Naadam cashmere sweater and the cold is no longer an issue, except for hands, which do need the occasional trip into the tack room for thawing. I sound like an influencer, but I’m not – I just wish I had been advised in my youth about how to stay warm. My mother was a city girl, she had no idea why anyone would stay outside for hours on end, so I was on my own figuring it out.
The animals always astonish me with their comfort in the cold. Three cats chose to sleep in the heated tack room last night, but Cora, Tom Morris, Marmalade, and Licorice slept out in the single digit cold and were as happy as ever this morning.
Cora 
Licorice 
Marmalade 
Rosie 
Skittle 
Twizzler
The birds were very hungry, but not unhappy with the frigid morning. The sunshine helps.
A sparrow and a goldfinch 
A fluffed up house finch 
“Did you take my picture?”
The horses, too, enjoyed the plentiful sunshine, even though the air was cold.
Frost on the rim of the water tank
Harry and I made a trip to Wentzville for supplies (including a year’s worth of Heartgard and Nexgard for the dogs, which was a stiff bill, but an annual necessity). Weedy was very excited to go to town! He enjoyed accompanying us into Petsmart for some Urine Destroyer, another necessity this week. The culprit has not been identified yet.
“Yippee! A car trip!” 
Surely this one is not under suspicion!
On our way home, we got a picture of Jane and Gus walking. Lucky timing.
Harry went to work in the studio while I did barn chores and then, unable to trail ride because of the cold, I went for a trail walk on my own legs in the fading light. It was a perfect ending to a cold day.
The creek is frozen 
The back field is beautiful
Stay safe, stay well. Peace.
Oh my, I must admit, Dear Mistletoe was the first one who crossed my mind. The sunflower echoes my current winter sentiment. I always used to say there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothes. Now I’m not so sure about that. Happy to hear you still have your green suit.
Peace
Your pictures of the cold are wonderful. It is colder here than it’s been and the cats that go for morning walks are coming back in pretty fast! They are spoiled. I often wonder how aware animals are of temperature, I mean animals that live outdoors. I always feel for them but except for the extremes, maybe they don’t suffer.
I have to believe under most conditions, the outdoor animals don’t suffer. I want the cats to stay in the warm tack room, but, as ever, they choose their own paths. Roscoe, like your indoor cats, goes out for shorter expeditions in the cold, so who knows? Little Arthur seems to have no desire to brave the elements after his journey to arrive here.
I do know for sure that horses prefer cold to heat. As long as they have forage, i.e. hay, they generate plenty of heat for themselves (hence the term “hay burner”? – though it may refer to how quickly they consume it, haha!)
In my youth, there was little to no “thermal” wear for winter. We just froze.
We grew up in the Dark Ages of winter wear!
Merina Wool long underwear is the best! And, yes! Animals amaze me how they handle the cold. My little Etta, flat coat, but thick undercoat, does great. No silly phoo – phooey doggie coat for her! Me, I’m good, I love the crisp and invigorating air. And, the fire so soothing, mesmerizing, creating stillness, the books, in the winter, down comforters, so cozy. Ah winter . . . .