Sure, the obvious answer is 51 but that's not where I was headed with this. Normally, I welcome our winter months as a time of great change and cleansing of the atmosphere. The cold air is free of pollen and insects, there's no need to be concerned with stepping on snakes accidentally and mountain views are startlingly clear. This year though, we had the misfortune to catch the flu and this favorite time of year is more of a struggle than normal.
This morning the temperature was 19 degrees and very windy. We had a light dusting of snow yesterday so the wind was flinging little shards of icy stuff around. Nothing can make someone feel whinier than icy little shards at 6:30 in the morning. As I was walking the dogs through the carport, I noticed the rhododendren must have felt the same way. The leaves were tightly curved to protect itself against the bitterness of the morning.
I couldn't help but remember not that long ago when the temperature was around 70 and the rhododendrens were much happier. Surely I'm at least as tough as the rhododendrens. I'm watching the sun come up now and already I'm feeling better.
What the heck...the best thing about winters in Western North Carolina is we could see temperatures in the 70s in the next month or so. This flu will pass and pretty soon the winter won't feel so menacing.
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