Snow Day #2 for 2020

This snow "storm" is a perfect example of what I feared would happen if I didn't change jobs.

Albemarle County closed for two days in a row. They will open 2-hours late Thursday.

Charlottesville City opened on time Thursday, got flak for being open while roads were terrible and buses were slipping, opened two hours late on Wednesday, and will open on time Thursday.

So far, I took about a $1,000 pay cut in exchange for two extra days off and one extra 2 hour delay before break. That's 15 hours off, 18 if you count coaching. 

This week wasn't enough to justify the switch by itself, but it put points on the board for certain!

If I was at my old job, Carrie would have been at home with Shane,and worried about me on bad roads. Meanwhile I would have been in a short-staffed school with grumpy kids, because half the people who work in the city drive in and the kids would see snow and say, "Albemarle is out! Why aren't we!?"

Instead, it felt like winter break stuck around longer than intended. I woke up at 7:15 AM, snuggled up to Carrie, and fell back asleep without realizing it! Shane knocked on the door at 8 AM and I was annoyed, because I didn't realize it was 45 minutes later!

I got to start off slow with my bagel and coffee before going down for barn chores. I found two mice who'd manage to frolic into a bin and trap themselves when I finished my morning commute.

I found the boys were idiots and somehow threw their hay-bag up and around where they couldn't eat hay.

And then I broke a pitchfork tine on frozen poop (I was being really careful, because I saw it was frozen, too!).

Normally, the boys don't poo under the hangover, but maybe they were annoyed about the hay. I shoveled four big piles and then decided to weigh them. I don't know if it was Sam, Eddie, or both, but the four piles weighed 30.8 lbs!

I was shocked when I switched over to the girls side, because there wasn't any! They only pooped out in the snow!? There were some small piles I scooped just outside the roof, but it made for an easier morning.

I came back out with Loki later. Annie was in the field sniffing and pawing at the remains of Shane's snowman/bunny.

I walked out to the front yard to let Loki get some energy out. 

He liked to lay in ambush behind the jump I sat on.

My butt was cold, my tea was cold, my fingers were cold, and my leg fell asleep, but it was nice to be at home!

In retrospect, I shouldn't have put cold water in my tea to cool it down. The wind did a remarkable job on it's own.

It's hard to see, but Loki kicked up a ton of mud as he was running around. His underside was coated. Carrie had been complaining he smelled and I brought him back wet, muddy, and smellier than before.

Bath time.

There's so much poof, I'm surprised by how little Loki is underneath it. The water turned his underbelly poof into an upside-down mohawk!

Loki ran all over Shane's floor trying to dry himself when I got done attempting to towel dry him!

I need to use a blow dryer next time.

The light hit him just perfectly in this shot!

Bonus blurry shot, for the win!

The little guy fell asleep easily midday. 

He slept light, though. He woke up nearly every time I crept over for a picture.

I have a hard time truly winding down during the day. I always want to do something to earn my rest later on. I tried to set up a play date with the neighbors again, but they had to run for an emergency work outing. I told Shane to clean up his room to earn electronics and he strung it out for hours (and a bath) before he did the deed at 6 PM (I'd told him, "You can have my computer while I'm doing barn chores....if your mom says your room is clean! Bye!").

I went out in the afternoon to disrobe all the horses. It was nearing 50 F out and too hot for blankets. I'd have to put the blankets back on at night feeding since it was scheduled to drop into the 20s.

The idiot boys managed to flip their hay again. It's a new trick. I can't imagine it's very satisfying.

 

Loki came out and Shane followed. They were playing in the arena and Loki got himself nice and dirty all over again (the underside at least). Keeping an eye on the boys is a full time job!

The rest of the barn mats were delivered in the afternoon. The two guys who were getting them out of the truck as a team said, "Good luck. These things are a pain in the ass to move."

"Yeah," I said. "I know it. She'll have me move them all into place later. I have to roll them up like a burrito to move them solo."

Both guys paused. They looked at me and then looked at each other. 

Then one guy started to roll a mat. "Like this?"

I showed them my trick and then they started to one-man mats. I guess I'm a teacher even on snow days.

I hopped up in the truck bed to roll mats and pass them off to the guys.

Carrie and I went outside later to place and cut the mats.

It's amazing how much easier the right tool makes everything. We didn't need power tools or anything special. We cut notches out of four mats in the time it took us how to figure out to cut the first mat last weekend.

Side note: With the bedding swept away, mouse tunnels were visible under the stall mat. Stinking mice.

I took a picture of the finished barn after evening chores. It looked nice!

We're halfway through the first school week back and I've spent more time working in the barn than in the classroom. Weird.