Holy shit, being a writer can be numbing! That’s what I discovered a week and a half ago when I strolled around my neighborhood as darkness was settling in. Earlier that day my region had received its first snowfall of the winter (I live in a town near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Dedicated journalist that I occasionally am, I decided to see how the powdery white stuff looked in moonlight, and to document my walk in words and with photos.
Well, it took me only a minute to realize that I wasn’t in a winter wonderland. Yeah, there were several inches of snow on the ground, but the effect was much less charming than I’d thought it would be. And what I’d been hoping especially to see — softly glowing snow clinging to tree branches — was virtually nowhere to be found. The day’s steady breezes had emptied the trees.
There were some worthy scenes, however. For instance, a number of households had not yet taken down their Christmas lights, so I stopped to admire those displays. And, 20 minutes into my walk, I watched a few kids sledding down the hilly front lawn of an apartment building. They were having fun. But you know what? I wasn’t! And that’s because my f*cking fingers were freezing!
Sure, I wore gloves during most of the walk. But I had to take them off every time I decided to snap a photo. Otherwise, there was no way I could have aimed my phone’s camera properly and pressed its button. Thus, my hands were exposed intermittently to 25°F (-4°C) air.
That shouldn’t have been enough to cause my fingers to become comatose. But somehow it damn well was. So, after being on the streets for almost half an hour, I knew I needed to get inside. Picking up my pace, I strode to my block. In front of my next-door neighbor’s home though, I chose, like a fool, to torture myself a little more by photographing the Moon, which was peeking through a tangle of tree branches. Then I walked the remaining 50 feet to my house, where I struggled to muster enough finger coordination to insert the front door key into its designated opening. Ten seconds later, finally, success! In I went.
Yup, having cold fingers sucks. Big time. On the other hand, having cold beers is a pleasure. In fact, it’s one of my greatest pleasures. I’d be in mourning if beer disappeared from the face of the Earth.
Though I’d enjoyed beer for many years (mainly mainstream lagers, such as Budweiser), my appreciation of the beverage rose to a higher level when, in my late 40s, I discovered that there were far more styles of beer on the market than I’d realized, and that the quality of many of them was steps above what I’d been used to. I have the craft beer revolution to thank for all of that. It began in the 1980s and really took off during the following decade, which is when I fell under its spell. Today, the revolution is at a high point. I mean, so many breweries worldwide produce primo beers.
Stouts, porters, pilsners, India pale ales (IPAs), and on and on . . . I pretty much like ’em all. And I look forward to downing one of them with dinner most evenings. I’m salivating right now, thinking about which brew I’ll have tonight. A quick look into the frig tells me my choice likely will be the Dogfish Head brewery’s 60 Minute IPA, an aromatic and seriously bitter quaff that’s refreshing as hell. I tell you, in these times of climate change, COVID, authoritarianism and racism, to name but a few problems bedeviling humankind, it’s wonderful to have something to look forward to.
The time has come to wrap things up. I’ll do so with songs that mesh, title-wise anyway, with this narrative. First up is Cold Fingers, by the late great Tony Joe White. Much of his music, Cold Fingers included, sounds primordial, as though it was born in our planet’s bowels. Tony Joe was something else. And then there’s Blake Shelton, a country music star and a pretty talented cat. Generally I’m not a big fan of today’s country music, overblown as much of it is. Though Blake’s Straight Outta Cold Beer leans in that direction, it tells a realistic story and packs a wallop. I like it.
Thanks for reading, girls and boys. Feel free to comment. Here are the songs:
Yeah, Another Blogger 
great post, Neil: suffering for your art is a time honoured theme; you’ve captured it well; and as a bonus you’ve added a little ode to beer 🙂 I love my beer too but mainly on a hot summer’s day 🙂
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Without beer, the world would be a sadder place than it already is.
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beer, coffee, and red, red wine 🙂
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As one who deals with cameras and -35C (-31F), I can attest to the fact that wearing fabric gloves (the degree of thickness depends on how much dexterity you want to retain; I use thin ones) under the mitts will work well to keep the fingers from falling off in frozen chunks when you want to take a photo – some nice ones here, by the way.
And beer! Craft beers are so good. I really shouldn’t drink any, but my, such a treat!
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Lynette, it’s amazing to me that you are able to deal with the temperatures in your region. You’ve got fortitude!
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I sympathize, we are very cold here too.
Joanna
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Hi. I’ll be glad when spring arrives.
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My birds and I will be also happy to see the spring!
Joanna
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Neil, I feel for you and your freezing fingers … what we do for photos and our blogs! 😀 A neat segue to cold beers and the craft beer market is massive here in the U.K. … I love the creative and inventive names for many of them. Once even wrote a post about this and my husband enjoyed drinking the beers! 😀
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Hi, Annika. My wife and I were in London ten years ago. I had some of the local craft beers. Delicious!
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Only drank budweisers. Until i came across a citrus and coriander flavoured local wheat beer called Bira White which is as light. Cheers to that.
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Loved Tony Joe White’s cold fingers, but I like my beer when temps hit the 70’s !
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Tony Joe White was a terrific musician. He had a distinct sound.
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I wonder if Bira beers ever find their way to the States. I’ll keep my eyes open for them.
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They are available in the USA since June 2018
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I enjoy beer, but only in summer. Luckily it’s summer in Canberra.
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Drink up!
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Cold days here also but I turn to a glass of whiskey!
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Your country produces excellent whiskeys. And beers too.
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And I enjoying a very special bottle received as a Christmas present, a favourite of mine.
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Due to health concerns, I have limited my brewski intake to regional, craft beers. The Upper Midwest has several good lagers.
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Hi. A good lager hits the spot. I like the amber lager made by Great Lakes brewery.
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Hi Neil, Whatever you choose to write about, you give it a certain pizzaz which appeals.I’d rather be a door-mouse when it’s cold and am a fair-weather creature, so it’s lucky I’ve retired to Spain. Even here, it gets cold in the winter now and then, but not as cold as a multitude of other places in the world.. .Still, getting chilled hands for your ‘art’ is worth it now and then. Here’s to the Spring and your favourite beers.Cheers!! xx
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Hey there, Joy. Spring can’t get here soon enough!
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I’m with you on the beer (cold or warm) & that Dogfish Head is a wonder. Cold fingers I’m not crazy about, and cold winter toes is even worse! Keep it warm.
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I had an outstanding hoppy beer last night: Troegs’ brewery’s Blizzard Of Hops.
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Cheers, Neil. It’s fun to sample The amazing variety of brews out there now. I enjoyed the colonial-style spruce ale they make at Yard’s Brewing in Philly.
I have the same trouble with my fingers, have you ever tried those little chemical heat packets? You just squeeze or shake them, and drop one in your coat pocket, or I even stuffed one inside my 🧤 glove.
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Thanks for the tip about the packets. You know, I’ve never had the spruce ale by Yards. I’m going to buy a bottle if I see it in a store.
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Love the moon in the shadow of the trees. I can relate to the “can’t take a picture with frozen fingers” problem. I lead a walking/hiking group every Sunday and post pictures on my Facebook account. Last week, when it was 25 degrees, I only posted two pictures. Too cold to take my gloves off again.
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Hi, Denise. Cold weather is no joke. It can be dangerous.
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I appreciate your effort. Freezing for those pictures was worth it (to me). I’ll toast you with my next beer. I walk regularly in the winter, as long as it’s above 20 degrees. I’m using a point and shoot camera and I found that I can operate it while wearing winter bike gloves. (Very thin fingers). For the phone, I wear regular bike gloves (no fingertips.
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Hi, and thanks for the tips about gloves. I appreciate it.
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You’re welcome
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I love the moon photo Neil! Thanks for risking frostbite to show us!
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You’re welcome (I think)!
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You remind me of one of the reasons we moved to the tropics….I like the beauty of cold winter nights as per your moon shot, but have no wish to return to those climes.
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I can take the cold pretty well, but not when I keep taking my gloves off!
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Neil, you’re always a cool dude…winter, spring, summer, or fall. My mother always said ice cream tasted best in the winter. Maybe that’s why you still enjoy a cold one these frosty days.
PS. Check out any of the songs, including “Frosty,” by bluesman Albert Collins, known as the Ice Man.
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Hi, Debra. Ah, Albert Collins. He was terrific. I saw him at The Chestnut Cabaret. You and Stan probably did too.
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Yes, 25°F is plenty cold enough to freeze-dry fingers as old as yours and mine. No way I would dare to use a camera when it’s below the 50-s.
If dedication to photography has cracked the skin of your fingers, U might like the old Italian folk remedy: rub in a little olive oil. Toasted-sesame oil works as well and has a nice smell. Oil needs more rubbing than “nongreasy” OTC moisturizers but works better for me.
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Hi, and thanks for the tips. I recently discovered a skin lotion that I think is the best one I’ve ever used: Jergens’ Ultra Healing lotion.
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Thanks. I should try it.
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I’m with you on the craft beer bandwagon. Don’t like all the fruit and candy brews, but certain stouts, porters, ales hit the spot. Re winter weather, that’s exactly why we’re in south Florida now looking at retirement spots!
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Hi. I don’t like highly fruity beers either, or sour beers. But I like just about everything else.
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Fresh snow on the landscape is always lovely, even if wasn’t quite what you wanted. As for frozen fingers while taking pictures…boy do I ever sympathize.Recently went to the lake to take some pictures, and I could hardly stand it. Fortunately, the light was so good that I didn’t need to snap many pictures to get what I wanted.
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Hi, Laurie. Taking photographs can be problematic, that’s for sure. Funny thing, though — I wrote a story last winter that involved taking photos of snow. My fingers didn’t react the way they did this year.
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Loved every bit of this post. Not into gourmet beers, but I want one after reading this! And Blake Shelton–forgot about this oldie but goodie. What a singer.
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Hey, Jacqui. I bet there are some beers out there that you’d enjoy. Beer comes in all kinds of styles these days.
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Cold fingers [hands], warm heart? Is that the saying? Cold beer, yes please. But cold fingers, not so much. Still we do what we have to do when we profess to being writers.
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Hi, Ally. Writing can put us in situations we never anticipated, for sure. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the day!
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I had a similar experience last winter when I took pictures of Katy Trail. My fingers were frozen. Yes, exactly as you said: I wore gloves during most of the walking, but had to take them off when taking pictures. Enjoy your pictures, really well captured 👍
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That’ll teach us!
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Winter wonderlands are best enjoyed on a horse and carriage under many layers of fleece and with a hot toddy in hand! But … it’s sounds like a great experience to look back upon from a warm kitchen.
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I used to enjoy winter. But that was a long time ago. These days, I grit my teeth and bear it.
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Keep those fingers warm, my friend, to keep those words and pictures flowing 🙂 When it comes to your beer, I doubt that there will be a shortage anytime soon.
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Afternoon, Rosaliene. I’m fortunate to live in an area that is heaven-made for beer lovers. That is, there is a remarkable number of breweries around greater Philadelphia. At least 40 or 50, I suppose. Maybe more than that.
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Using your phone as a camera has many advantages, but taking your gloves off and on is one downside! Alison did come across an advert for gloves that interact with touch screens somewhere recently. Great music choices!
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People who film/photograph in REALLY cold places (Antarctica, for instance) — how do they do it? Undoubtedly they have all sorts of special equipment and clothing.
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Great photos, good songs….l could use a beer in this sad time!!!
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Hi. You’ve had a tough week. Better days are ahead.
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“The day’s steady breeze had emptied the trees.” Love that line! I had to think about it for a second, given that I hail from San Francisco, where it’s essentially 55 degrees all year long. In any case, you’re making me long for a good Anchor Steam!
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Hi, Paula. Anchor beers have been finding their way to my region for many years. I’ve drunk many Anchor Steams in my life. I love Steam!
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Funny how cold fingers quickly changed to cold beers!
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Two thumbs down for the former. Two thumbs up for the latter.
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Hate the cold, but love a good porter. In the winter, I usually drink wine or bubbly only, but I wouldn’t turn down beer if it were offered!
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Evening, Eden. Well, I guess we have about six or seven weeks to go before the threat of snow is mostly gone. Spring is more or less approaching!
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Lucky for you all you can keep your Christmas lights up! We’re in a subdivision situation and have to take ours down by January 3rd…or else 😦
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Hi. I have a feeling that some lights will be up around here till maybe a full month or more after Christmas.
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The videos just did their annoyingly loading forever thing, so this was a quiet read for me. Nice that people left you suggestions for warming your icy digits. I’d look forward to a report on what works, but my solution to the cold is to breathe in and out a few times through our kitchen sliding door—and then withdraw gratefully to a toasty warm house. Quite a change from shoveling snow, my once all-time favorite activity. What a difference a decade makes.
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Morning, Annie. Speaking of shoveling: In my neighborhood, almost never do kids come around after a snowfall, looking to earn money by shoveling people’s driveways and walks. I wonder if that’s true most everywhere.
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Hey there Neil, Sorry you had to suffer for your art. It was so cold here I had goose bumps on my arms and all the little geese were wearing sweaters. And speaking of beer, you may enjoy the song “Pop a Top” by Jim Ed Brown and “The Lord Knows I’m Drinking by Cal Smith. Have a great day. Jerry
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Hi. I just listened to the Cal Smith tune. I sure wasn’t expecting a waltz played in a rapid tempo, but that’s what it is. Have a good day. See ya!
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When we went to see polar bears in Canada we bought glove liners, which you can wear under thicker thermal gloves. When we needed manual dexterity to take photos we slipped off the outer, thermal gloves but kept the glove liners on. We had no problems operating cameras with the liners on, and it seemed to help keep the worst of the cold at bay.
I’d not heard Tony Joe White had died, he was one talented guy. I love that you describe his music as “born in our planet’s bowels”. I get that, I really do.
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Hi. Thanks for the tip about glove liners. Appreciated. I’ll try to be prepared the next time I have the itch to take photos in cold weather.
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I’ll have the Saranac Winter Lager please.
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Coming right up!
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I share your love of craft beer…..my son-in-law is a brewmaster at Stonehooker—https://stonehooker.com/beer/
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Your daughter married the right guy!
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That Tony Joe sounds so good. Lets make a video with you lip syncing to it while out on a walk. Neil Joe White. Cool pics and you make a brew sound pretty good.
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That video is destined to go viral!
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Blake Shelton makes it to a Neil post? Wow. But I get it singing about beer and all (and I’m a country music fan besides). Speaking of beer, I’d add any German-style Hefeweizen to your frig. There’s something about that “bubble-gummy” taste. As for the photo taking, how is it we don’t have an option on our phone cameras to take pictures by voice command (or do we?) Finally, thanks for the recommendation on “Cathedral Stories”. Just finished the first one about Bud & Olla. Definitely kept my attention.
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Hi, and thanks for your thoughts. Voice command cameras is a great idea. You should pursue it. As for the beer you mention, I like that style. That bubble gum taste is very unexpected. See ya!
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I hope you didn’t get that terrible pain when cold extremities warm up! Perhaps clutching a cold beer helped your fingers acclimatise gradually. Budweiser, hmm? Glad you discovered real beer.
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Hi. I guess I got inside just in time. My fingers warmed up painlessly and pretty quickly.
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Suffering for your art, Neil. The photo of the moon through the trees alone was worth freezing your fingers, although my personal favourite is the one of the beers. I’m salivating, but it’s only 6am here, and I’ve got work. I may have to wait.
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Hi. Do you have favorite beer styles, or favorite breweries?
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These days I tend to go for the hoppier end of the range, Pale ales and golden ales. There are some great small breweries here in the Lakes, Cumbrian Ales and the Hawkshead Brewery are my two faves, but there are many others. I have some cracking craft beers in the USA too, but I’m struggling to remember the names.
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You know, here in greater Philadelphia I don’t see many British beers for sale. I don’t know why that is. But I’m going to keep my eyes open for them. Years ago I drank Bass a lot, but even that brand has mostly disappeared from my area.
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I think many of the smaller breweries over here are perhaps too small to export. You find a lot that just have a regional reach. I must admit, I do like the idea that you travel to different places and sample the local brews, rather than seeing the same brands everywhere. I would imagine its the same with some of the smaller microbreweries in the States too.
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It’s alright to torture ourself in a breeze air for photography as you’ve captured. I say, lights are never as beautiful as during the Winter. Especially, the winter nights. It’s amazing.
Enjoy Winter. Enjoy beer. 🍻
Cheers!
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Hello there. Thanks for adding to the conversation. I used to enjoy winter. But that was quite a few years ago. Like a lot of people, I now find it bothersome. But beer? I’ll always love beer. Take care.
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Thanks for the great read, that really sums it up how I’m feeling outside when it’s cold 😂
My feeling is we soon need summer, and living will be easy 🙂 Cheers!
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Chris, I’m with you on that. Take care.
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What a brave soul you are: My kids visited for Xmas and were thrilled we had a WHITE Xmas. White Xmas? Yikes! I hate snow.
We don’t usually have huge snowfalls that early. They loved it. I hated it — kept my mouth shut. After they left I didn’t go out for a week, waiting for the icy streets to melt. I had cabin fever.
Stay in with a beer when it snows. All the best, Muriel
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Winter is best suited for people younger than you and me. Where’s spring already?
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Right you are I totally agree. Take care. Muiel
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Those photos were worth the frozen fingers! And cold beer helps just about anything…..
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Hi. I’m glad the pix turned out okay, but next time I’ll be better prepared for the cold.
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Sounds like your ‘appreciation of the beverage rose to a higher level’ on that night too. Fun post!
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Hi, Denise. A good beer cures some ills (maybe).
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I like winter walks in the dark but am a bit nervous now of icy pavements since breaking my ankle last year. Be careful out there! Great themed song choices.
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Hi. Right, we have to keep our wits about us!
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Although I’m a red wine girl, I have come to appreciate good beer in the past couple of years. My husband and I went to a wonderful beer pub in Portland, Maine several years ago and they literally had every beer imaginable. Each choice was served in its own dedicated glass. Fabulous! It was called Novare Res Bier Café. Sadly, since Covid, we won’t be returning anytime soon… Meanwhile, some of my favorite beers are Smithwicks, Sam Adams Octoberfest, Rickard’s Red, and a local brew called ‘Right Some Red’.
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Hi Lynne. I like your taste in beers. You might like another of the Sam Adams brews: their Boston Lager. Enjoy the weekend!
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Those cold fingers sound painful, Neil. As my husband says, “That’s why we were born with armpits.” And I remember the (high school) days when a Coors Light was meant a special occasion. Lol. The craft beers have changed all that! Stay warm and have one on me. 🙂
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Hi, Diana. My wife and I will be having dinner tonight at a tavern that has good selections of food and of beers. I’m looking forward to a pint of a tasty brew there.
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Enjoy!
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If you ever come in contact with a time machine, you’ll have to flip a coin to go thousands of years back to either China, Iran, Mesopotamia, or Egypt–all of which have claims on inventing beer one way or another. You’d have a good time–wherever you ended up!
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It would be fascinating to be able to discover what beer, or any food or beverage, tasted like way back when. I wonder if we would like the way they cooked and brewed.
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Wait til it’s summer. Warm fingers cold beer! We drove past a house the other day and the Christmas tree was still up!
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Vinny, I can’t wait till it warms up. Winter is a drag.
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I’m with you Neil, craft beer makes everything go down better. I see in the picture you have Black Butte Porter, one of my favs. I’m tired of the cold too and so ready for summer.
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Hello there, Michele. Thanks for adding your thoughts. Have you had the porter from the Anchor brewery, which is in San Francisco? That’s another delicious porter.
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No, I haven’t Neil. I looked it up and there is one place in my town that I can buy it. Looking forward to giving it a try. Thank you 🙂
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