Winter - chilly and bright

As I sit here writing I can feel that special sensitivity in my hands, face and ears that comes from working outside in the cold. This morning it was really sunny and minus 10°C and I looked at The Red House gable end in full sunlight, and the complicated bit I still needed to fix between the balcony and the window, and I thought I'd go down and take a closer look. Then I thought I'd just put a couple of straightforward bits into place, then...
Before I knew where I was all the tools were out and I was doing the whole job. At first I was a little chilly, but then the work warmed me up and then I was actually getting a bit too warm. (I did have a very warm down jacket on.)
This picture was taken from where I was working, looking back to our other houses. It's a few minutes to midday, the temperature has risen to minus 5, and the sun isn't going to get any higher than this today. In fact it's not going to get any higher than this until Valentine's Day next year!
The dry cold of this part of the world is invigorating, rather than chilling, as long as you are moving and dressed warmly. And it's important to get outside when the days are so short - you need as much daylight as possible to keep happy and healthy in the dark parts of the year.
On a day like this it's easy to get outside!