Yup, it’s that cold here still and has been for several days.

It’s the kind of cold that, even with the insulated drapes drawn, the heat up, the fire in the fireplace, and long sleeves and pants on, you still feel a chill in your bones.

But it’s the pups I worry about most, having to go outside to do their business in these temps. The bitter cold air and icy ground on their paws has got to be very uncomfortable. We tried putting a sweater on Harvey yesterday before letting him out, but he behaved as though we’d severed his legs, so we took it off him. Rita doesn’t seem to mind the cold quite as much, but we still encourage both of them to get outside and back in as quickly as possible. The moment he’s back inside, Harvey heads right for the baseboard heating vent to warm up, and we have a heated throw I put Rita on to warm her up after an outing.

It’s par for the course living in upstate New York, of course, and certainly one of the least pleasant aspects of our season, but we do our best to keep our home, pets, and ourselves warm and comfy until temps start rising again and we can all venture outside without fear of losing fingers, toes, or the tips of our nose.