A Cold Day

We went x-country skiing today on the lake. Jan's first trip this winter, my first trip since I fell and bashed my ribs on a frozen rut about a week ago.
When we got down to the lake it felt cold, really cold. It had been about -12°C at home but even though we are only 700 m away it is often a lot colder in the bottom of the valley.  Anyway, we skied off and after a few minutes both had really cold hands. We even considered turning back! However we persevered and after about 30 minutes some warmth began to creep back into our hands, and by the time we were back at the car Jan had cosy hands and I had one warm hand and one hand that was still cold, but not frozen.
Back in the car we checked the temperature and it was -19°C. That's a bit chilly to be out skiing but it was so very sunny that it was hard to resist the lure of the snow.
The photo shows a snow scooter track we were following on our way home, trying to catch the last rays of the sun.  If you look at Jan's blip it was taken from almost the same spot, but looking left, through the sound where the beavers have a lodge. It's not a brilliant picture but we didn't take many pictures because it was just so cold. My camera was a little reluctant to zoom in and out and Jan's phone got cold and died completely. My phone carried on working because it was in a shirt pocket, close to my skin and I thought it best to leave it there in case we needed it in an emergency.  Fortunately there was no such thing.
Back home I swiftly lit the wood-burner and we did a bit of clearing up and then sat, roasting slightly, in front of the fire as we snacked on Christmas goodies and a cup of coffee.