Snake Proof Boots

Austin has seen some peculiar winter days since I’ve lived here, compliments of humanity’s insistence on proceeding with this whole global warming thing. Last year we had a bit of slushy pseudo-snow, and with it some confusion and shortened work schedules. It was slightly out of the ordinary, or so I’m told. But on Friday, February 4th of 2011 (yes, I’m a month late in posting these photos, what are you gonna do about it?), we got a real snow day, with real snow and real closures that were already in place by the time most of the city’s alarm clocks rang, leaving a magical 3-day weekend its wake. Here’s how the story unfolded…. We’d been plagued with bitter cold and high winds for much of the week and as Friday neared, weather forecasters began predicting snow. All day Thursday my workplace teased employees with uninformative email “updates” about the potential weather emergency. After work I rode my bike for a chilly, gusty 10 minutes to obtain a long overdue haircut. By the time I reached the salon, my hands were so frozen (cheap ineffectual Texas gloves) that I could barely operate the bike lock. Inside there was much anticipation of the impending snow. It was the gossip of the day. The precipitation was scheduled to begin before midnight, but by 1am when I checked my email one last time for fresh updates and grudgingly climbed into bed, not a single flake had materialized. I feared the worst; a normal workday. Friday morning I awoke to sunshine and cursed my terrible luck. Pulling open the blinds, I prepared to get another cold commute over with. And then I saw it. Snow. SNOW! It had discreetly begun and ended somewhere in the night, but due to sub-freezing temperatures it was still firmly stuck to the ground. There would be no thawing before noon and Austin’s sissy roads had been declared unsafe to drive upon. There would be no work.