Going With the Flo'

We've now reached that delightful time of year where the most watched program on TV is the weather channel. Did y'all know there's a hurricane coming, and that it's going to be tremendously wet?!

My favorite Flo meme

Because I don't really pay much attention to the news (I don't have cable and the internet is for dog and horse pictures, duh), it took me by surprise when shit hit the fan early this week and every bottle of water in the Carolinas was quickly bought up, as well as all the bread and milk. Those milk sandwiches will DEFINITELY help us survive the storm, amIright? 

Grocery shopping during hurricane prep is quite a sight to behold. You know that part of Mean Girls where the mall turns into the watering hole scene, with everyone going crazy? That's how I'd equate the Harris Teeter this week - women literally running, yes, running, through the store grabbing what they need, frantic on the phone with their husbands/boyfriends/etc. shouting, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU DAN YOU HAVE TO GO FIND WATER! The Teeter is OUT, DO YOU HEAR ME? We NEED to be prepared for this so you just go get in your truck and FIND CASES OF WATER." 

Needless to say, I was thrilled to get back home that night with my meager loot, which did actually include bread and milk (in case you were wondering if I'm taking milk sandwiches seriously).

Since Monday, I have actually been paying attention to the storm. Florence came on the radar as a pretty significant presence in the atlantic ocean, ready to slam into the east coast and destroy the Carolinas. As she came closer (for the record, this is not accurate but you get the idea), she went from a category 5, to a 4, back to a 5, down to a 3, OH YAY A 2, back to a 4... seriously she could NOT make up her mind. Through all of this storm watching, I snagged some water, kept my gas tank full, and bought some food.  Zuzu has an extra bag of dog food, my apartment was cleaned and stocked with candles and flashlights, and I was about as ready as I could be. 

Gearing up for the storm

Zuzu and her exit buddy, Mr. Walrus

As far as the barn goes, I'd been talking to Abby throughout the week about the plan for the horses. Though I had multiple people reaching out to me offering a trailer and stall to get Goose out, I feel pretty comfortable with him where he is. He's in a large pasture with a safe shed and a treeline. Our property is double fenced - god forbid a tree came down somewhere, I sincerely doubt the horses would be able to, or want to, leave the property. He's about as safe as he can be out there, and as of this morning when I went out to feed, he's a soggy Goose but happily slurped up his breakfast with his buddies. 

As a precaution, we all wrote important information on the horses' bell boots, and Abby braided tags into their tails. I'm on team Better Safe Than Sorry, and I'm glad that we prepared the horses just in case. 

As everyone in the horse world knows, WEG is going on this week. Abby was planning to be there Friday through Sunday which left me on barn duty. With the weather, I was a bit worried about my ability to get out there. Horses are a rain or shine job, and I am always on board with helping to care for them in all weather. However, I live about 22 miles from the farm, and Charlotte and surrounding areas are in line to flood. Unfortunately her trip was cut short, and Abby is on her way back now, but I was able to get out there to feed last night and this morning. 

As of this morning, the horses are all happy and soggy out in their fields. As the rain continues I think it's safe to assume they will be less happy, but I'm glad they're all out together and I don't have to worry about trees falling on the barn. I only fell twice in the mud (once in front of Goose, I swear he laughed at me) and special thanks to my main mare Stella for standing over me while the geldings messed around way too close for comfort as I flopped in the mud. She totally had my back, pinning her ears at them as I struggled to my feet then sniffing me to make sure I was okay. Pretty sure she was really thinking "PLEASE don't die before you've fed us!" but ya know, I'm grateful all the same.

Soggy and muddy

Right now it's barely raining in Charlotte, and Zuzu and I are curled up in my bed catching up on blogging and watching Gilmore Girls. There will likely be a neighbor get together tonight so we don't all go fully stir crazy alone in our apartments, and my contribution is beer cheese and pretzels. The storm is meant to get much worse later this afternoon into tomorrow, but I'm really hoping we're spared flooding and power loss. Flo is currently categorized as a tropical storm but is unfortunately moving so slowly she's still doing catastrophic damage across the Carolinas.

Current state

Day 1 of Poop Strike

On a very serious note, I sincerely hope that anyone in the path of Florence stays safe and sustains minimal to no damage. I have friends on the coast that have either evacuated or been in safe rooms since yesterday, and I am hoping for the best. The devastation is already too great, and my thoughts are with all of those affected. Stay safe my friends.  

The first casualty in my neighborhood