February's Last Day

The weather continues to be not conducive to riding, so we haven't. Continued cold, sometimes brutally cold, and windy. They all have spent the night inside for what feels like weeks. The snow continues to cover the grass, and more predicted for tomorrow.

So, what would you do looking at a lousy weather weekend? Pull up the carpet on the stairs!

I erroneously surmised that the carpet was 2004 vintage, the back was stamped 2006. Poor carpet, it really had a rough, short life. We probably have not gone up those stairs fifty times since 2010, sometimes we don't go up there for a month or two at a time.

The stairs appear to have had a decorative woodwork removed, but not repainted. Some of the steps are not topped with a bull-nose board, making the rise different between the steps. The landing looks like a recently installed repair. I washed the risers and they don't look that bad. Unfortunately there are so many gaps between the stringer and the risers that we can't have them remain naked. We'll get them cleaned up and painted, preparing for carpet installation in the future.

We took the carpet and the rest of the junk to the dump, stopped by a bigboxstore for a piece of wood to repair the broken stringer.

Snow - Again

Weak sun, got about two inches of new snow, on top of the snow and ice that has been there since the weekend, and before. The high today will be 30. Almost feels warm, considering.

Aftermath

Warming up, too! Everything is dripping, took the boys' blankets off to soak up the sunshine.

The snow on the ground is compressing and getting sloppy, heavy to shovel. Whatever is now wet will re-freeze and become a pain.

He installed the quarter-round moulding in the dining room and we started moving furniture back into the room.

We're back to 'normal.'

Snow and Lots of It !!!

We were promised snow, beginning at Noon, of three to six inches, then later in the afternoon turning to sleet/freezing rain, then rain.

What we actually got was snow, beginning at 9:30 a.m., that totaled a good twelve inches,

continuing until well after dark, then sleet, with a finish of freezing rain around 10 p.m.

Everyone Talks About The Weather

But no one does a thing about it!

The weather is all over the news - the star of the newscasts! Record-breaking lows and highs, nothing to brag about, except maybe that you survived it, and your pipes didn't burst and the car still started.

The snow is still on the ground, drifting into deep piles, where other areas are blown clear. I put the horses out with their fly masks on because of the sustained high winds and the glittering snow. The masks always work as sunglasses!

Some areas are clear, grass is exposed, while other areas have hard-packed snow. The boys in particular are developing 'snow balls' on their front feet, the hooves that have shoes. Their feet are actually warm, and coupled with the metal shoes causes a melt/freeze reaction and makes the snow packed into their feet.

When I let them in last night they looked like they were walking on high-heels. I was hoping that after some time they would come off in the dry stalls, but no such luck.

Skip notoriously is really awful with picking his feet. Not every single time, but frequently. Last night he knew I was having a hard time dislodging the snow balls. I had to rest and get my breath back after trying, over and over, to pry the ice out of his hoof.

He was patient, and after several tries the ice came out in a block.

Light Upgrade

New ceiling light for the living room has been installed. This lamp is flush-mounted, hand-crafted from metal, and made in Pennsylvania. I love the fixture and the pattern it throws onto the ceiling. Has a pie-safe look to it, with a hint of Amish plain-folk style.

Voila! Ta-DA!!