Every Day

Its been hard finding things to write about to continue the blog. I feel like life isn’t that exciting. But then I remember not many of you are traveling outdoor educators who are familiar with life in the mountains dealing with horses. So I guess I'll write about some of the mundane (to me) stuff too! Its been raining frequently. Its that time of the year here where we should be getting lots of precipitation. Its good to see because that means it’ll help the drought! Last time I was here it NEVER precipitated. It was rare to need a rain jacket… One thing that’s not so fun when its raining is feeding the horses. Ill throw them some hay, it’ll get ALL over me and then will be STUCK to my jacket. I look like a hay monster… lol  We had a big snowstorm last night. It was mostly sleet yesterday but overnight we got some accumulation. We all woke up to the bright sun reflecting on all the white snow. The mountains had a dusting making the trees look like lace. Even though I am not a ...

Its always good to be prepared for everything. I particularly pack to be prepared for being really, really cold. Or wet. I hate both of those things. Or hangry I guess, too. Nobody wants to be around me when Im that hungry. Todays weather was in the mid 40's, sunny and leftover snow on the ground. So, here is how I packed for my hike to Natural Bridge today: -An extra sweatshirt -A windbreaker (or rain jacket, however you look at it) -A cliff bar, a mojo bar, a nature valley bar, granola in the car, an apple. -Bottle of water -Camera -Small first aid kit -Two plastic bags for wet feet -Extra pair of wool socks -Sunglasses (Wasn't sunny when I left) -Various other things that are already in my backpack What I was wearing: -Fleece lined leggings and water resistant, Prana, outdoor pants -Fleece brushed long sleeve shirt, Marmot zip up, Colombia Fleece -Cheap gloves, scarf, hat, two pairs of wool socks So I get to the trail and its just up. Lots of stairs. Thats...

Whack... THUMP... thud... THUMP After my coworker left right at the end of the work day, I started hearing this noise. The first three times I heard it, I thought it was the cats making mischief in the other room. Then It happened again and again. At least once every 5 minutes. Every time I thought it was my other coworker coming back, slamming the door behind her. Then, no human would show themselves after the noise. I was able to ignore it until a really loud THUMP happened and I went to investigate. The cats were all cuddled on the bed, not a cat. I explored the front door, quiet. I turned on the light to the porch, nothing. I went back into the living room to go back to what I was doing and I heard it AGAIN. Then it hit me, we just got 18 inches of snow and its now 40 degrees. That snow is sliding off the roof like mad. I caught it out of the corner of my eye. After the thud, I looked out the window of the porch and saw a huge pile of snow before the THUMP. Standing in the ...

Despite the dirt under my nails. Despite the bleach headache that was continuing to pound (we use SO much bleach to clean enclosures). Despite the tiredness that was dwelling. Despite the freezing temperatures. And despite the snow, I was happily running from building to building to get waters filled and make sure everything was in order for the following day. The snow was coming down in big fluffy chunks and I can probably count on one hand the times Ive been excited for snow in my adult life. Today was one of those days. I finished the day at 5:02 pm and ran up to my room. Despite everything, I had decided to go for a run after work. I quickly took off my outer layer of snake poop, dirty mulch work clothes and put on some running clothes. Its always fun to exercise when you've got all the right gear.  Two layers of clothes, the inner layer was fleece lined (oh so warm) and I was ready for that fluffy snow. My roommate/coworker looked at me in disgust when I announced I was go...