Baby it's cold outside, sorta

While temperature is a measurable certainty, the longer I live in Minnesota the more I appreciate the psychological side and how it affects how cold or hot we feel. Today is a good example.

Driving in to work the temp outside was -7. If it were November this would be terrible and depressing. It would be dark as I drive in and a crust of ice would be rapidly forming on the lakes. Even worse would be the looming sense that things are only going to get worse.

But it is February. When I get out of my car I can tell it really is below zero. I feel the cold sidewalk through the bottom of my shoes. The tiny bits of moisture in my pants and overcoat freeze and make a swishing sound as I walk. It feels like I'm wearing a thin layer of cardboard. When I get back in my car this afternoon, it will hurt to hold the steering wheel. I may wear gloves and ear muffs inside the car for the first ten minutes or so of the drive home.

But it is February. March is a week away. The sun is in the sky at 7am, not buried below the horizon as in November. The ice houses are coming off the lakes. When I step out of my car the day feels cheery. (And i'm not a cheery day kind of guy). There is the knowledge that warmth is coming, even if it is not here yet. Winter was fun but we're ready for a change.

If you close your eyes, that snowmobile you hear in the distance sounds like a lawnmower.