The temperature was frigid but at least the sun was shining when Eos and Echo and I went for our daily walk on the beach in early afternoon. The cold and bitter wind presented a problem. We always walk into the wind on the first lap of the walk, going as far as I can, to make the return easier. Prevailing winds here are out of the west so that is usually our initial direction. But a strong north/northwest wind coming off the dunes today, whipping the spray back into the path of the breaking waves, made it tough. I had to contend with wind departing and returning.
We managed about twenty minutes in the cold, less than half our usual time, and I spent the last quarter mile planning what warming drink I would have at home. It turned out to be a hot toddy of sorts: a cup of steaming herbal tea, a lemon slice, a couple of cloves and a shot of bourbon. It made me think of that clever short poem by Phyllis McGinley: Stir the eggnog/lift the toddy/Happy New Year everybody.