It was 20 degrees with a zero-degree wind chill this morning, and it really didn't seem that bad. I dressed in regular sport socks, fleece-lined jeans tucked into my boots, a long-sleeved t-shirt, the inside layer of my parka, an integrated-headlight ballcap, a winter hat over that pulled down over my ears, a scarf wound around and over and around again, the outside layer of my parka, and fleece-lined deerskin gloves.

... and promptly boiled my chest off. The rest of me was comfortable, with a touch of chill at the scarf-slit across my face/ears and at the tips of my fingers. But I was WAY TOO HOT across the center of my chest and the center of my back from about the base of my neck to my waist. pant pant. hot. I need to figure out how to lighten up on the layers at the center without sacrificing the layers on my arms.

I'm quite certain that part of my lack of misery during morning barn chores this winter is due to the better water and power arrangements. I'm not wrestling with water over long distances (or pouring it on myself) in the dark. The water is close by to the animals, and there is power to at least one bucket per group, so there is less frustration about ice. And there is sufficient light by which to see what I'm doing and where I'm stepping.

I'm wondering if the other reason for a lack of misery is that I've moved my schedule later by almost an hour. I'm finishing my chores as the sky is lightening. Look! Sunrise! Depression BE GONE! ::poof::