It all started when we got up Monday morning and decided to change out the flannel sheets on the bed and put on some new ones. After all, we were warm enough—cotton ones would be fine. Boy was that a harbinger of things to come! This was also the day that we got a call from the tenant in the house in Midway; the call went something like this: “We are ok, but we had to call the fire department because of an excessive amount of smoke in the house.” You always love these calls! We were able to get our heating guy out to look at the problem; seems one of the dog’s rubber toys ended up in the vent system and contacted the electrical heat strips. That was a cheap fix for a potential catastrophe.
Heeding the advice of the weather man, we did the final preparations for what was forecasted to be severe ice. We dashed out and bought the new cabinets for Adam’s rent house and then brought them to our house thinking that if we do get ice we wouldn’t be able to drive to Adam’s house to stain them. I made sure both cars had full gas tanks and we filled stand by water jugs for flushing purposes, just in case. The frig was already well stocked and I would not have wanted to go shopping Monday afternoon knowing everyone else (okay, the smarter ones) would be there too. By late afternoon we were getting some light freezing rain and by bedtime every surface was coated with at least a quarter of an inch of ice.
We awoke Tuesday to a winter wonderland; every where you looked was white with ice, and more was still falling. At 8:50 am (just before the sheets went into the washer) the power went off. We took a walk around the property and noted little tree damage. However, throughout the day we got steady rain that froze as it hit the trees and the ground. Ice encased each branch and grew to almost an inch in diameter – sometimes more. The trees bent and cracked. In the afternoon periodic sounds like gun shots indicated a tree break. By nightfall, we could hear cracks and crashes at the rate of two or three a minute. We began to wonder if there would be any trees left standing. That evening I started up the generator (I had tested it the day before to ensure it was still operational) so we could have water (we have a well), hot water and keep the frig and freezer cold. Since the inside temperature was in the 50’s, I wanted to turn the central heat on and warm up the house. First I turned off the pump and water heater; but that was not sufficient. After being on only a couple of minutes the generator was under stress and before I could get any major item turned off, we suddenly found ourselves with fewer lights on. I did some quick checking and discovered several items were no longer functional, like the water pump. A frantic call to Andy (where the temperature was in the 70’s) only added to my concerns. It was possible that I had overloaded the generator enough to have caused it damage. So we went to bed that night not knowing what the morning would bring!
Wednesday morning with outside temps in the teens, inside was around 50. Again, we thank Adam for acclimating us to cooler temperatures! Outside, trees stood like skeletons with broken bones. Oh, they looked so sad. It hurt. Majestic trees denuded of branches. They dangled or lay in heaps under the trees. Downed limbs crisscrossed the drive. They bent the clothesline. One hung from the roof. Tree tops bent over at unnatural angles. It looked like a war zone. Mostly sticks pointed toward the sky where branches had been. I hurried outside to start the generator and that is when I discovered that the engineers had designed an idiot proof generator! A couple of the reset buttons had popped; I pushed them in and verified that all our electrical stuff in the house still worked! We have not attempted to use the central heat again. For the most part, the night time indoor temperatures get down to about 50 and during the day time we may get up to about 58. Ice and snow covered everything and resulting in heavy ice laden branches bending down and causing a potential hazard to those walking underneath. . However, I anticipated clearing weather and knew we would need to get into town. The radio cautioned about working under trees where limbs could break, but I was careful as I took the new chain saw and tackled the limbs that had fallen on the driveway. The weather was still cold and miserable.
While the intention was to use the generator sparingly, we have not been all that successful. Our propane tank started off with 60%, or about 150 gallons. With the electric coop saying it could be three weeks before power is restored, we would rather run it only a few hours a day than run it continually and run out before power is back on. We have averaged about 5 hours a day over 5 days. Propane usage is about 2% a day so far (but can you really believe the gage?). Normally we get up, get dressed, get “jenny” on line, turn on the pump, freezer and frig, then the water heater, then the radio to catch the latest news. Sandy does her face, we have breakfast, the neighbor comes over to warm up, make her coffee, and a short visit. We check the computer, do a load of laundry, perhaps shower. The first few mornings we spent the morning staining and then poly urethaning Adam’s cabinets. Then the power stayed on longer so we had light to see. Power is off most of mid-day and we turn it on again for the evening meal, weather report, ablutions, etc. At night we light candles (the tapers are best) and read for a couple of hours and then head off to bed.
Thursday the sun played hide and seek and the weather warmed above freezing. As the ice melted, it dripped to the ends of the branches….and more branches came crashing down. I headed into town to assess damage to our rental homes. Only one did not have tree limb damage – it doesn’t have any trees! One had a huge limb resting on the garage, having fallen from an adjacent tree and was blocking access to the garage (this one took two of us five hours and four trailer loads to clean up on Saturday), another had one large elm tree loose several limbs, another had several trees drop limbs, but not on the house. Of Rebecca’s two houses, one took four hours and two trailer loads to clean and the other had a branch go through the roof. The latter house also has lots of limbs down. Adam’s house didn’t even take us an hour to clean up. Even though we have enough firewood for next year, we started cutting up the oak for future year’s burning. When we finally get all the trees cut, we should have enough firewood for the grandchildren to burn!
Friday we moved the cabinets out of our house to Adam’s house – it still had power! We had stained them and put on the first coat of poly urethane downstairs at our house in about 50 degree temps, so a warmer environment was most welcome. Sandy spent the afternoon brushing on the final coat of poly urethane; hopefully we can get them installed this week. Of course, after the ice storm we are not sure what the demand for rentals will be. I hired a young man from church to help with the tree limb cleanup and we spent Friday afternoon clearing two houses.
On Saturday afternoon, we spent five hours at one house and still have more to do there. He managed to safely remove the limb off the garage without incurring any damage to the house. The city (wisely) set up a tree deposit area just to the west of town for the dumping of tree debris (for those living in the city limits). This site was only a mile from where we were working on Saturday, so it was really very convenient. You back your trailer in and the scoop shovel drags if off – you don’t even have to unload it! By last night, they had a HUGE pile and had started burning it. Marshmallows anyone?
Church was cancelled today. I made congo squares and fudge and we headed out about 11 am to visit several families to deliver goodies and do a welfare check (no, that does not involve money—it’s making sure they are okay). We managed to get to nine homes and visit 11 families; only three of those nine have power. We also stopped at two of our rentals that we had not had contact with and both of them have power (those in the center of town are usually the ones with power). Several of those without power had generators running, mainly to provide 110 power for lights and such. It was interesting to note that those that followed the church’s counsel to store food, water, fuel, etc. were in the best situation and state of mind.
Here are some rambling thoughts. When we installed our generator several years ago, we had no idea if we would ever use it. Up until now it had been run less than six hours. We are now on day six of our ‘adventure’ without power and have used it at least five hours a day. Worth it? You bet! Ours will handle the pump, water heater, frig, freezer, lights and more. Those are the major items we see people needing during this crisis; unfortunately, a majority of the generators that are being sold like hot cakes this past week only handle 110 volts; that means no water much less hot water. We really feel blessed!
It’s amazing what one is thankful for at this time: blankets, warm water, hot food, a fire, candles, a generator, hot showers!, a working computer, socks, dry boots, no holes in the house. Our neighbor’s house got so cold, her refrigerator was warmer. When Tom helped her get a propane heater going, she was thrilled her house warmed up to 50 degrees!
I’m excited that the cavalry is coming! Deborah is coming to help and work and Miranda and Dan will come over the weekend to slash and burn. As we look back over the past six days without power, we have had many an opportunity to reflect on the many blessings we do have. And we have found we can survive without all of those ‘life support system’ we often feel are a necessity.
The riverfront park is right on the Mississippi river. 
Aaron blew out his candles and was munching on a donut when he heard a train whistle. Down went the donut! Off he raced to the river's edge to see the train. He had me take a photo of the barge passing by.
