Steele and the Snow-i-cane

So the weather people never changed their minds about the snow. I tried denial but it became increasingly apparent that we were in for some bad weather. I began to prepare for the storm. It's not exactly onerous. The biggest worry is a loss of power which will affect the ability to get water from the well. So I filled all my water buckets and stored them in the tack room so they wouldn't freeze. We made sure we had flashlights and batteries. I also emptied the manure cart and then brought it into the barn so it wouldn't get buried in the snow. 

It was hard to not freak out given the dire predictions but there was nothing left to do but go to bed and see what the morning brought. When I got up the snow had started. It wasn't bad yet but I could tell it was coming. I couldn't let the horses out because of the wind and snow so I made sure that they had fresh hay and water and headed back out to the house. I knew I wasn't going to be able to go to work so I was able to enjoy a leisurely coffee. The wind and snow picked up over the morning. At 11-ish I headed out to the barn to check on the horses. The wind was fierce. When I opened the barn doors Steele let out a whinny. Not a 'hi!' whinny but a "oh thank heavens you're here" whinny. I saw that his upper dutch door was open. I went around the barn to check and saw that the latch was off. I was able to find one screw but not the other. I don't know how it happened- the holes may have been stripped and with the wind it popped open. Or he may have pushed on it. I rummaged through Ed's bins looking for another screw. Once I found one I grabbed the screwdriver and headed back out. It was awful- the wind was so high and the snow was virtually ice being driven sideways- right into my face. As I tried to get the screws in I could feel my fingers freezing. Finally I got them in and secured the door. I then made sure that the inside latches of both doors was done. I fell inside and went into the tack room to thaw.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  It was hard to enjoy the 'snow day' with the worry that the wires would be blown down by the hurricane force winds. Heading out to the barn I could feel it try to lift me. But our luck held and we didn't lose power except for briefly in the night. I could actually feel the house shiver in the wind.  The next day I went out and the wind was still up but the snow had stopped. My car was buried. There were places where there was no snow and places that the snow was piled up high. Behind the barn it was about 3 feet. But, as usual, there was no snow against the horses dutch doors but about 4 feet way the snow was up to their bellies. As soon as he came out Steele climbed up the bank and had a roll.  After work I brought out the shovel to dig out the hay box and clean up a bit of the snow. Steele was helpful.

wow, this is a lot of snow to move

I think I could make this work

seems pretty easy, I don't know what all the fuss is about

hmm it's harder than I thought.