adjective: bracing 

1. fresh and invigorating.

Yesterday afternoon my sister told me she had gone out for a chilly run, followed by a cold hike.  I commented on how much I hated the weather when it was in single digits and the wind was blowing.  She told me it was bracing.  I laughed out loud when I read the word.

Fast forward to this morning.  We didn’t get the predicted 3 to 6 inches of snow but it’s a little after 9 o’clock and the temperature is 5 degrees with the wind blowing what little snow we had.  Last time I checked it’s about minus 14.  The snow that fell was so fine it was like dust.  When you are outdoors and the wind whips it up it feels like you are being blasted with sand, very cold sand.  Suffice it to say it is painful to be outdoors today for any time longer than walking to your car parked next to the door.

The real burning question I have is why do your dogs have to spend an inordinately long period of time outdoors when it’s below zero and you have to walk them one by one on a leash?  For them it’s bracing, for me it was frostbite.