Cold cold cold

This is the fourth day of single-digit temperatures, but I much prefer the invigorating cold to those awful, enervating heat waves. I drink iced coffee year-round, and I never mind putting ice packs on sore muscles. In the cold, you can always put on a hat or another layer of clothing, and it's kind of exciting to watch the car's thermometer drop steadily -- how low will it go? (Down to 5 so far.)
"Stay warm," friends say to each other, and somehow that's so much cozier than "Stay cool!"
Shoveling the driveway was a great cardio workout and a satisfying break from work, but I was a little surprised to see a jogger run by yesterday morning. And a family member in Minnesota told me he biked to work the other day despite the 28-below weather. Now that's a little extreme!
Of course, I don't have to go outside unless I want to, unlike people with snow to plow, farms to run and animals to tend. My friend Susan, who has horses and chickens at her Newlin Township farm, said her horses have little icicles on their nose and chin hairs from their frozen breath, and the bucket of 60-degree water for her chickens is actually steaming as she hauls it on her wagon to the chicken coop.
Not surprisingly, she much, much prefers the summer.
(The photos show Susan's horses, Danny and Diesel, enjoying a snowy breakfast, and the chicken coop.)