Writing outside even when it’s bloody cold

Western New York winters are harsh. And long. Some people say they last six months. That’s an exaggeration. Winters only last five miserable overcast months, twenty-nine freezing days, and twenty-three bloody awful hours. At least that’s what it feels like.

Since I love heat, sunshine, and being outdoors, I learned to dread winters. That all changed about two years ago, when I said, “Screw this, I’m riding my bicycle even if we’re getting blasted by snow, and the roads are so slippery that I feel like Bambi on ice.” Sure, I came close to being smashed to death a couple of times, but I would have died with a smile on my face. Few people are lucky enough to go that way.

Now, even if I could ride my bike year-round, I still had one problem: how could I write outside when it was 10 degrees F, and my fingers were painfully frozen? I could barely move them enough to open my laptop. Forget about typing anything. That’s when it occurred to me: I have a big porch – why not build a little enclosure which I can keep warm enough for my fingers to exit the dangerously-close-to-frost-bite zone?

Less than two days and $100 later, my “outside office” was done. I can work here in balmy 30 to 40 degrees F and I can tell you that I haven’t been this happy in winter since … sixteen years ago (that’s when I moved to Western New York).

To give you an idea of the setup of my office, I made a short video. Not the best quality, but it was fun to shoot.

Enjoy. And stay warm.