Wednesday morning this week we woke up before the sun as usual. As we drank our morning coffee, I back in bed, Ken in the livingroom, we could hear creaking and popping and snapping, and OH, NO, boom! Gabriel had been let out earlier to do his business, but when he rang the bell again to be let out after sunrise this is what greeted him.....
He was unable to get off the deck into the yard....
Later in the morning we went out to see what other damage the freezing rain had caused. While we were out Ken saw smoke coming from the power line that runs behind our house along a lane....
Even I, who was up by our house, could see the flash of light that accompanied the explosion. He warned our neighbors that the power line was down on the road after that tree continued it's descent. He invited them to come over if they needed anything. I'd gone back into the house and was now yelling across the way to him, "We don't have any power either!" That was 11:30. Ken walked down to our street to see if our power line had a tree on it, too. He didn't see anything amiss but this tree was lying in our street....
As the day wore on more snap, crackle, pop was heard. By the end of the day this is what our yard looked like....
We turned on the emergency radio and heard that 33,000 people in our county alone were without power. But we were prepared! Gallon jugs of water to drink and wash with were brought up from storage (we have a well so no electricity means no water); candles and flash lights were gathered; food from the refrigerator was put in coolers and set out on the porch (it was in the 20's by night); sterno and a fondue pot were brought out to boil water for tea and coffee; another comforter was added to the bed; snow was collected in buckets to flush toliets; fires were made in both fireplaces to heat the rooms and cook dinner. We were set. Soup was heated in the fondue pot. Bratwurst was cooked on camping forks....
We dined by candlelight in front of the fire just like in my doll's house....
And after dinner Gabriel found a warm spot on the hearth and Poetry sat on my lap as I read by candlelight....
We built up the fire in the heatalator fireplace in the dining room, brought Poetry and Gabriel in with us and snuggled under the two comforters. We were all soon fast asleep.
The next day we could hear power saws buzzing and were able to venture out to do some errands, but still no power by supper so we did it all over again. In the meantime, I was enjoying taking photos in the yard....though, not enjoying the damage to more trees....
The ice made for some interesting designs as the sun melted the sleeves of ice covering the branches. As the ice slid to the ground it shattered into a million pieces like cut crystals....
The bare flower stems looked like ice sculptures....
Even Mr. Cardinal came out to enjoy the icy beauty....
After 32 hours the power was restored. Frankly, I was disappointed....we'd planned to pop corn over the fire....but instead we ran the dishwasher, put all our survival gear away, checked e-mails, and settled back into our comfortable way of life.
Looking back over the short sojourn into another way of life I realized why I did not see it as a hardship. It reminded me of waking up underneath a mountain of quilts, snuggled deep into a feather mattress on cold mornings at Mamaw and Papaw's house in Mississippi. The only heaters were little gas ones in the living room and kitchen. I'd awaken to the smell of frying bacon--the only thing that could draw me from that warm bed--put on my slippers and robe and hurry down to the warm kitchen where Mamaw would be fixing breakfast. The water had to be heated on the stove for washing up and doing dishes. And just like Gabriel, we had to go out to use the bathroom in the "outhouse". They had a TV but reception was so bad, we never bothered to watch it. Instead we were out in the woods or down the road making our own play. We gathered eggs from the hen house, climbed into the hayloft, or went swimming at the swimming hole on hot summer days. No, being without electricity for a day and a half was no hardship at all!
What a positive outlook! How I long for days such as this!! Time to spend with our loved ones instead of scurrying around this busy world! I have to admit it would have been hard for me to put all the storm items away and back to the duties of the day. So sorry to see all of the damage to the trees! Do love the beauty of the flower stems in ice!! Thank you for sharing all the beautiful pictures of snow to this Florida girl! Hope there is not too much damage or more rough weather coming your way ...♡♥♡
ReplyDeleteThank you...I shall pass your condolences on to the woods and the birds and squirrels. We wrong know the full damage until everything melts. Hopefully, some of the branches will spring back up and not found to be cracked.
DeleteGreat memories and innovations for taking care of yourselves; thanks for sharing! I'm sorry for all the damage and the fact that your yard looks too much like ours :(
ReplyDeleteWe really can't do much clean-up until the snow melts--so much is frozen into the piles of ice. We all will be busy this Spring won't we!
DeleteOh my Cathy, you did have quite a bit of tree damage. Hopefully some of your ice laden limbs will spring back after the ice melts. We had ice damage a few years ago that changed the entire look of our back yard. Your memories and preparedness were wonderful to read about. ♥
ReplyDeleteThere was some melting going on out there today. Tomorrow we'll take a look to see how things are.
DeleteI can completely relate, Cathy. In March 1991, nearly all of upstate New York was hit by a massive ice storm. Everyone remembers where they were when it happened - like the Kennedy Assassination. Power was out everywhere across about 20 counties, although for some reason one of my brothers never lost it at his house at all. He lived right at the edge of Lake Ontario's southern shore, and it's always warmer near the lake, so we think it never got quite cold enough there to form ice. We tell him he missed one of the most significant events the region ever experienced! Of course he did experience having his parents, 5 siblings and their families and pets camping out at his house, but it was definitely a different perspective. All over the area, it looked exactly like your pictures today. Very pretty, brilliant crystal white ice coated everything outside - from blades of grass to telephone poles! And very weird to be driving home at night in a completely dark landscape. No traffic lights or highway lights, darkened stores and shopping centers, nothing but the lights on oncoming traffic. Even weirder out in the country where you could look out and not eve see light coming from the windows of a farmhouse, or a floodlight near a barn. We were always saying “It must have looked like this 100 years ago, or when the dinosaurs were here etc…” LOL. I was lucky. My power was out only from Sunday night [when it hit] until the following Thursday, but that was plenty for me. You never realize how much you use something until you can't use it anymore. At my school, we had a "Funniest Hairdo Without a Blow Dryer" contest - lots of fun. But I felt so bad for the people who lived where they could't get the power back online for a week or more. So just a few days of it is all I know I could have tolerated without becoming very disagreeable to be with. Glad your experience was as short as it was. The news stories are still showing areas near you without power so it sounds as though it’s a lot like our ice storm. Take care, stay warm and keep everyone cozy at your house!
ReplyDeleteOur 32 hours was a drop in the bucket compared to your experience! But I think you brother got the worst of it! :-) Does he still talk about it even now? I'm not as cheerful in the summer when we lose power like we did a couple years ago--too hot, food needing constant ice to keep it cool, and not being able to shower when you need it most! No thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh sure, Cath - every year when the forecast sounds like it could go that way... and we get that "wintry mix" forecast quite often because it's always warmer near the Lake - we all remember the Ice Storm. That's how we think of it, with capital letters. The Ice Storm. My brother Jeff, the one that never lost power, really missed the main impact of it. But as I said, he did have 2 parents, 5 siblings, 3 in-laws, nieces and nephews of various shapes and sizes and assorted dogs and cats for most of the first week. So of course he does have his own perspective on it. LOL. I think we were all back in our own homes within the first week, but there were tons of people in the more rural areas that didn't get power restored for another week plus. And it didn't help that it was late Winter when you still have to heat your home. Even my parents and grandparents said they couldn't ever remember a storm like that one. I guess there was a major snowstorm in 1944, and of course a massive one in Feb 1966 when I was 9. 103 inches of snow in about 4 days, snow up to the traffic lights. It was nuts - schools and businesses were completely shut down for a solid week. Anyway, it does make you appreciate simple things like having a warm place to sleep, flipping a switch and having the light come on, filling the teakettle and having a flame pop up underneath it on the stove. My dog came in my room and got up on my bed - something I always wanted to let her do - and neither one of my parents made her go in her own bed. That was the best part to me. Our house was the only one on the street with a gas range - which I find very weird now but as a kid I didn't think anything of it - and all the neighbors cooked at our house all day long the whole week. During the Big Blackout of Nov 1965 too - remember that? Which hit right about suppertime. Weather horror stories - fits in perfectly with my hurricane of 1938 books! Take care and talk to you later!
DeleteI understand now why you're interested in the 1938 hurricane book! ☺ I was 15 and lived in Valparaiso, IN in November 1965. I don't think we had a particularly big snow storm that season, but we did in February 1967! Over 3 feet! I have movies of that one. My boyfriend (now husband) walked the mile (?) to my house every day. I didn't have school for a week. The next big storm I remember was here in Maryland in early 1979. Then in the 90's we had a couple. My nephew-in-law, a truck driver, died in the 1996 storm up in PA on I-80. The last really huge storm we had here was in 2011. Took us 2 days to dig out from that one. This is the first year we've had a snow plow--a blade on the lawn tractor. It's really made a difference in how we view snow now. Before we'd just plan on being housebound for days because of our long, steep driveway. Having your neighbors come cook at your house must have been rather fun I think. It's events like this that bring people together!
DeleteThose snow plow attachments for the riding lawn mower are almost a MUST-HAVE in my opinion. We moved to a bigger house when I was 10 and my dad bought his first John Deere riding lawn mower. Of the 9 acres of property, he had to cut grass on about 6 of them and everyone he asked told him "John Deere is the best." He bought the snow plow attachment at the same time because our driveway was 200 feet long and shoveling just wasn't a practical option. Even for someone with 6 kids, like my Dad! LOL. I hear another "crippling" ice storm is due to hit the South. Is Maryland expecting to be hit again? Hope not - you all have more than paid your dues this year, weather-wise. I think the southern regions of the country have had it worse than we Northerners - at least we really accustomed to the onslaught! We don't like it but at least we're used to it. Well, take care and talk to you soon. :>)
DeleteWe just read we could get up to 14 inches on Thursday. Ken just got more wood from the woodshed. We'll go to the store tomorrow. Our driveway is 300 feet and has a 60 degree climb! We shoveled that driveway ourselves for 32 winters--only paid someone a few times to come out in all those years.
DeleteGlad you are safe. Very resourceful and fun for a short while I guess. reminds me of my Grandmother's cousin who owned a farm with no electricity, running water or flushing toilets.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I hope you have not been affected by all the wind and flooding your country is experiencing.
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