Another cold day!! It reached maybe 29 degrees outside?? I know some of you are like, “pshaw! 29? That’s warm compared to <insert insanely cold temp here that is <29deg>!” To which I will reply, “Umm, that’s uninhabitable. 29 is uninhabitable. Why am I not in Hawaii?”
Blaze
Alas, I’m not in Hawaii, and with my extreme dislike of cold, of course it’s a great idea for me to spend a good solid 5 hours outdoors in this weather. 😉 But the horses and watching the little boy have so much fun makes it worth it. This day we played some Simon Says and sang some songs as we rode around the arena. He kept wanting us to step in the horse poop (ah, boys), and always kept a sharp eye on the poop that Gigi (our horse) made, pointing out where it is in reference to the other horses’ poops.
Afterwards, I had a quick lunch of a handful of trail mix (I need to figure out a quick and easy real lunch to bring! Since no gluten, wraps and sandwiches are out… Any ideas?), and then on to barn duty. Due to the cold, everything was frozen. 😦 Sadly, some of the water pipes in the stables froze (eep!), so we had to fetch it from other areas of the farm. Everyone was frantically running out trying to figure out what to do! This is the first winter at this new location, so of course, we figure things out the hard way…
We got lunch to all the horses on time, though, and then I spent the rest of my time sweeping, getting hay from the hay barn for the next shift, and then taking wheelbarrows from the stall mucking to the dumpster. It’s a great workout!
One of the resident barn cats, Dakota, kept following me around. She came with me to the hay barn and then did a crazy dance of jumping and running up and down all the bales of hay… Then turning and looking at me (see the picture).
Then, back in the stables, she went into one of the empty rooms and just sat, looking at a hole as I swept nearby. She’s probably looking for a mouse or rat, but alas, her search was unsuccessful during my shift. Maybe next time… She and her compatriot, Oscar, are apparently pretty good ratters – eating them whole when caught. (Poor little rats. 😦 Reminds me of my pet rat that I had back in college; what a great little pal… Such misunderstood creatures…)
Looks like next time will be back to normal weather – mid-40’s, cloudy, and drizzly. Ahh, the PacNW winters…
Plantiful Eats 
Loved this post Veronica–so many vivid details about your day: the kid and the horse poop, the cat, the cold, the pipes. I could practically smell everything and feel it too. And my, what a blessing you can do all that work!! And in 29 degrees no less.
Now let me “rap” a little about gluten free wraps. . .Food for Life makes Brown Rice Tortillas that are gluten free and low in fat, though they have a little oil. They are large, like flour tortillas. They have to be softened up in a pan, but after that you can make a to go wrap with them. Also my son and daughter-in-law by teff wraps in Portlandia so they must have them in Seattle–these are also gluten free and pretty good, but higher in fat.–Something like 7 grams, whereas the brown rice tortillas are just 2. Whole Foods and maybe Trader Joe’s would be good places to look.
You can also forgo the processed wrap altogether if you can find good collard greens. They make great nutritious wraps. You can put anything you want in them, like hummus and veggies, for instance. Just trim the spine back for easier rolling and blanch in some hot water (with a touch of vinegar is nice) for a minute. I ladle them out with a flat slotted spoon and just put them on the cutting board or a plate, fill them, and fold them however you like. I have made various veggie patties and put them in collards or a big leaf of romaine instead of a bun. They travel pretty well. Hope that helps. 🙂
Thanks, Maria! I’m glad you were able to picture it, as well. I agree – it’s awesome I can do all that stuff, including lifting a 50lb hay bale. Things like that I always took for granted before; but knowing it could escape overnight has given me more an appreciation of even shoveling sh**… 🙂
I had tried the rice tortillas, but they were always brittle – but I didn’t try warming them up, first! I’ll look around for that brand, too. I think I just tried the Trader Joe’s brand, and wasn’t impressed. I totally forgot about the teff ones – I had them long ago, but was still eating wheat and liked that better, so forgot about them! Thanks! If I recall, they were flexible, too, and burrito sized.
Thanks for the tip on the collards, too! Again, something I forgot about – I now remember seeing it as an option at a deli for a gluten free wrap. Never thought to do that myself. I’m happy to hear you say they travel well – they’d have to last a couple hours while I’m in class before I get a break to eat. I actually just made some Thai veggie sliders for dinner last night and have some leftovers, they’d go great in a wrap.
Thanks so much for the tips!! I’ll try to make one of these for this week – depends on what the store is carrying. It’s great that options still exist, especially for when we need that “grab and go” ease. xoxo
Oh, and I like your play on words with “rap”… 🙂 And your sly reference to Portlandia! Great, crazy show, that is scarily spot on with some of the locals there (and here!).