Some hope!

So... I went into the forest yesterday after filling my old but good Husqvarna chain saw with fuel, tightening the chain and giving it a general once-over. I managed to walk without too much pain and started to saw up some trees that had been felled four weeks ago. After about six cuts through a 14" trunk the damned throttle jammed at full power. I couldn't fix it in the forest so I trudged back to the woodshed, slipped on the ice and twisted my already aching ankle again. That's the end of that. I can't even fix the saw because it's still too cold to work in the garage and I can't take the smelly thing into the house.

One thing I'd suspected for a long time turned out to be quite true. Ordinary rubber boots provide no support for the ankles whatsoever.

Healing

My foot is healing nicely. I can walk without much pain and hope to get back into the forest to finish the work I started tomorrow. The weather is improving. But although the sun shines most days it was well below -20C last night. Walking outside the house is fraught with danger especially for a semi-cripple like me. The surface often melts during the day, but each night new slick ice forms. I have ski-poles with sharp metal points that make it a little easier. In the forest moving about on the snow is no problem, even when toting a heavy chain saw.