Before the weather changed to plunge us into a subzero deep freeze overnight, I had the opportunity to tramp around in the UW-Madison arboretum yesterday while temps were still in the high teens. NOAA said it was 14 deg F but my dashboard thermometer said it was 18 deg F, which somehow seemed, I dunno, not warm, but maybe okay? If I wore lots of layers?

It was a desperate move, I admit, made by a desperate man who was all too keenly aware it was unlikely he would be risking frostbite to go for a stroll outdoors until some time next week. It’s not that I don’t like staying in all day, drinking cup after cup of hot coffee, plowing through the books in my To Be Read pile, and taking occasional breaks to annoy the cats. That sounds like a pretty great day in my estimation. As much as I enjoy days like that, though, I tend to get a little stir crazy if I stay in more than two days in a row.

So there I was, tramping through Evjue Woods in the southern half of the arboretum, when the sun came out from behind a high cloud to shine through the towering white pines in front of me. I pulled a mitten off in spite of the cold so I could dig my phone out of my pocket as fast as I could to take a photo before the light changed. And got the photo I wanted! Huzzah! Then quickly put my phone away, buttoned up every layer of clothing again and got moving to generate some heat. Never did get warm.