FROST BITE SUCKS

Tractors are very useful. You can plant and harvest crops with them, push snow out of your yard, level out dirt, use it to get almost any vehicle unstuck, and move hay. I don't own a tractor. This is something I should seriously invest in if I am going to keep my horses. I have to use a pitchfork and toss hay into the hay ring twice a day so that my horses have something to eat. I don't mind doing this at all. It gives me something constructive to do, along with a great upper body workout, and if the hay isn't frozen together from snow and ice it doesn't take very long to accomplish.

On the extremely cold, very windy, -30 windshield temperatures the day before yesterday I was outside feeding my horses. I had on my new Itasca works book, my new work jacket, a stocking cap, and a really thick pair of gloves (all of this except for the gloves were purchased with my TSC gift card I got for Christmas.) To say it was cold was a major understatement. As I was pitching hay I could feel the wind go right through my jacket and gloves like I was bearing skin on a hot July day. I came back into the house to warm up and caught a look of my face in the mirror. The reflected image looked just like what a person expected to see. A bright red face with water at the corners of my eyes from the wind blowing into them. However, my nose did not resemble the rest of my face. Along the right side of my nose was a white area that went from the front of the nostril, over the tip of my nose, and ran half way up the right side of the nose. It wasn't a pale skin color, nor did it match the tan carpet of my living room floor, it was white as pure driven snow. I had frost bite.

I let my nose warm up naturally while I was gawking at it. I couldn't believe it. I had spent many winter days in my younger childhood snowmobiling, making forts, sledding, even riding and not once had I developed frost bite anywhere. I was praying to God that the white area would not turn black. Missing half of my nose was not an attractive thought. After a very long while the white patch faded and was replaced by a very red area that resembled a bad sun burn. It started to get some sensation back and I was overcome with relief. The change in color and the fact that I was starting to feel something let me know that blood flow had finally started to return to the right side of my nose.

The pain in my nose is odd. It burns like a sunburn to the fourth power, there is also still a tingling numbness amongst the sunburn like my nose has fallen asleep, and it also itches....BAD! As much as I really want to, I know better than to even attempt scratching it. It's excruciating to even gently rub my nose against one of my fingers and yawning is a whole new level of pain. If you don't believe me, try yawning right now and pay attention to how your nose moves and scrunches up. The right side of my nose will always be sensitive now. On chilly days I will have to pay attention and make sure my nose is well covered because it will be prone to frost bite. I used to think scarfs were stupid. I believed that they were just some fashion item that a lot of people bought into. I learned my lesson. Scarfs are not stupid and they actually hold a good purpose. I am going to wear a scarf every time I go out, especially when I am feeding the horses.

My nose will be okay, it's just going to take a little time for the redness to go away. I think that it should be gone in time for me to attend Dougapalooza with minimal harassment from my friends. However, it is Doug's birthday, and I think that will take all focus off my nose....well, it should anyway, for we will be celebrating Doug!