I really can't stay (Baby it's cold outside)
I gotta go away (Baby it's cold outside)

Like many of you, I wouldn't mind taking a long nap and waking up in April. Canadian winters in January are no picnic to say the least, particularly if you are a dog owner. How most of us dread slipping on the boots, coats, hats and gloves to walk our pooches when it's below 20 outside and icy and snowy and whatever else nature throws at us. 

That said, the winter dog walk does not bother me the least. I throw on my big red parka that my wife wants to burn, zip up the hood, (which is key to remaining toasty warm) and don all the other accouterments that are part of my Arctic winter garb. I'm also lucky that my rugged Welsh terrier, DJ, has a thick wiry coat that renders him impervious to the harsh Canadian clime. So long as we stay away from the road and sidewalk salt, every walk he takes is a joyous celebration of winter. He frolics, he rolls in the snow, he proudly sprinkles his yellow mark of Zorro on every snowbank, snowman and snow fort, (much to the chagrin of my hapless neighbors). 

I'm warm inside my parka, the cold fresh air that I breath is invigorating, exhilarating, intoxicating. I marvel at the terrestrial beauty of the suburban landscape with its snow-capped homes and fluffy white trees and wonder how the crows and pigeons survive, why they don't fly south for the long winter season?

I peer into the homes of my neighbors, not because I'm nosy, (although I am), rather I feel a sense of collective wellness that we're all safe and sound inside our comfy abodes riding out the winter in relative contentment. I don't miss the sweltering heat, the oppressive humidity or the invasive insects poking, stinging and biting my fair skin. I am a true Northerner, I embrace the winter and there is no better way to revel in all its glory, then with a simple walk around the block with my dog.

Baby it's cold outside.