Supercooled

Who uses it: Physicists and natural scientists
What it means: Maintaining a liquid state at temperatures below the expected freezing point. It's a very precarious state that can turn into freezing at any time.
How you can use it: All through the winter.

Since the solstice is coming up, and since I'm reading a great book full of these terms, I think I'll devote this week to words and phrases about winter.

Gardiner is still covered in ice, and it makes going for walks very tricky. Dizzy's favorite path, behind the paperboard factory, is a fairly steep downhill slope that's impossible in this weather. I tried to explain it to him, but he doesn't believe me. I'd take him across the street to demonstrate, but breaking a leg (for him or for me) would be extremely inconvenient at this time of year. As it is, I fell on my butt just getting out of the car on Saturday, and was only grateful that no one was outside to see it.

Happy birthday today to my dear friend Gary -- I would say he's one of my oldest friends, but that would imply that he is old, and of course he is not. But it is a great comfort to me that we have been friends for... shh... more than 25 years now, and will be friends for at least 50 more. Many happy returns of the day.