Cold

It was almost comically cold yesterday (9 at sunrise, struggled to 15 for a high by sunset). Once again I forgot to start out going north on the dog's walk, which meant facing the forehead-freezing fury of Canada's best winds on Ash Point Road. The walk possibly set a personal best - usually we are sniffing and detouring and turning around to gaze wistfully back (or see what's gaining on us) - well under 20 minutes for the loop. In the afternoon the three of us tried to think of a more sheltered place to exercise and eliminate; unfortunately, our geography was off, for Beaucaire Road in Camden is on the south and east sides of Lake Megunticook, and the lovely houses and stately trees did little to protect our collective noses and toeses from the northwest winds. It was a personal worst for that walk, the usual hour embarrassingly shrunk by a sprint for the warmth of the car after 20 minutes.

The cold made for wonderful views of the bay, however. Sunrise saw a flinty ocean and sharp racing clouds above the horizon and freezing sea fog below. Sunset was an astonishing palette of the BIV end of the spectrum. The cold made for fast and furious burning in the woodstove. It was most conducive to thankfulness. And it made for a wonderfully cozy evening of stir-fry and hot cocoa and a movie by the fire.