And the forecast calls for ... more snow.

Richmond, as it turns out, has become a suburb of Boston, MA. What, that doesn't make sense to you? I guess it’s a bit of a stretch really, but if you look at the snowfall the Central Virginia area has gotten this winter then I think you'd get my point. It has been over 15 years since we have gotten two foot+ snows in one winter, and now we are looking at a third! Goodness help us all. Snow is pretty and all, really, it is. I used to love waking up the sound, or lack thereof, of freshly fallen snow. It's so peaceful, serene, and unblemished. And snow days from school where the bomb (back when that phrase wasn’t dated and old lady sounding)! Ah yes, when I was young, single and didn't have a herd of 2 and 4-legged children I used to be able to appreciate all that snow had to offer.

Now, not so much.

Nash is going insane with his lack of park trips: trust me, my boy needs his park trips. There are only so many ways we can find to entertain him within the same 400 sq ft. Last weekend I gave him a bath just to have something different to do, I even contemplated outing on a bathing suit and getting in with him to try and drag it out another 15-20 minutes (equal to 20-30 minutes with a temper tantrum … it would have been worth it). The whippets are utterly annoying after being sequestered "Are we going out now?! What about now!! If I bark, then can we go? What if I run up and down the hallway? Now!! What, I am not supposed to eat that?! You can't catch me! Weeee!!!" Stupid dogs. I won't even get into the horses. Haande still has snow "legwarmers" and I don’t dare contemplate how much poop is under all that snow since I haven't been able to muck out the runs in a week. Old, wet, poop. Yay. I will say, however, that watching him run around the paddock with the hay tarp because he had 3 days pent up energy and I couldn't get to the tarp before he did was humorous. "Look at meeeeeeeee!!!! Look what I can do!!!!" Harriet did not find this amusing, as she logically determined that he was actually trying to run her down and kill her with said tarp. It was a bad day for our little mule. One rarely escapes death without some harm to the sole. Yep, these days being snowed in sucks.

So, a natural choice would be to head out. Right? If there is anything worse than dealing with my crew in the snow its dealing with all the other humans, and their cars, in the snow. Yes, Richmonders turn into bumbling idiots when snow falls … didn't you know? While accepting the risk becoming a hypocrite let me just vent a few frustrations:

• People who drive well below the speed limit after the snow has melted: Dude, the road is DRY. You can go 45 mph and not explode into a massive fireball. Promise.
• People who drive like normal before the snow has been plowed/thawed: Uh, yea. Snow is slick. Didn't you know? No? Probably do now that you are in a ditch and I am stuck in a pile-up of people waiting to pass your dumb butt because half your car is still in the road. Thanks. Thanks a lot.
• People who don’t clean off the top of their car: Yes Mr. SUV owner, I absolutely wanted two garbage cans of snow dumped on my windshield while driving down the interstate. Thank you for sharing (sharing = being to lazy to finish the job right).
• People who come to a complete stop in the middle of their traffic lane because there is some residual snow that the plow didn't get: GO you fool! People will hit you! By people, I mean me.
• People with 4 wheel drive: having 4 wheel drive does nothing to help you when all 4 wheels are on ice. You're an idiot.

Of course, many of these excellent drivers are heading to the grocery store. Because everyone knows that if you are going to be stuck inside for a whole two days what you really need is 5 gallons of milk, 6 loaves of bread and enough canned food to recreate Jamestown. I had to fight for a half gallon of whole milk for Nash last week. It almost got ugly. I can't imagine what people actually do with all this milk, bread and canned peas. The mind reels. Do what I do … call out for pizza. Its entertainment and food all in a one-stop-shop.

Oh, I could go on for days but I will be kind and spare you. Just suffice it to say, I am terribly ready for summer (when I am complaining about the heat and people in short shorts please do not remind me of this posting - I won't be interested) but until that glorious time I will just continue to try and stay dry, mud free and keep the troops entertained. Punxsutawney Phil, you little bastard, you better be wrong.