The commissary of our zoo never looks better than it does when it rains. The same could be said about the lobby of our reptile house, our enrichment workshop, or even our break room. All of this despite the muddy boot prints that we track inside the moment we come in from the storm. The reason is simple - we just don't want to be outside, and any excuse to find inside work is worth some cleaning.
I've never been very good at sitting still. I've also never been good at finding a raincoat that actually repels rain. During bad weather, these two forces tragically collide. Sure, you still have to go out and feed the animals and do some cleaning. After that, though, there's not much to do. Well, that's not true, there's always plenty to do. It's just that it's a lot easier - and safer - to do it when there's not a torrential downpour.
In some ways, those rainy days are very productive. I can get caught up on my record keeping. I can work on some proposals for new enrichment or training programs. I can catch up on correspondence, or do research on our animals.
Or I could go down the rabbit hole of wasting time on the computer, gossiping with coworkers, or sitting around the computer, wasting time and gossiping with coworkers. It could really go either way.
And sometimes "productive inside work" turns into flat out "busy work," especially when the deluge goes on for several days. I have done some disturbingly OCD things on day six of the flood, trying to idle away an afternoon. This winter has shaped up to be especially rainy. Much more rainfall and I'll be re-inventorying the zoo's library - this time I might reorder by height instead of author...
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