Getting Ready for the Storm

All indications are that we are in for a bit of a blow--rain, freezing rain, sleet, ice, and snow all rolled into one weather system. I left the storytelling retreat last night and drove home instead of staying over as planned because I well remember the last ice storm 10-11 years ago and I did not want a) to be stranded away from home, and b) Larry to be here dealing with it by himself. The bad weather was predicted to hit sometime during the night so it seemed wisest to shift plans and come home.

This morning we're doing more preparations. I thought we were pretty well stocked but Lordy me, who forgot to buy toilet paper?? Me. So we made a quick run to the store and bought some extra batteries too. We figured we were all set.

When we got home we started thinking about the last storm and how branches and trees crashed down all around us. That prompted us to move our vehicles to safer parking places. We also moved all the patio and porch furniture. The deck is vulnerable to the big maple that shades it but there is nothing to be done about that.

Then we decided to fill buckets and containers with water. We'd bought 5 gallons but if the electric goes off, and that seems likely if the storm is as bad as its press, then we'll need water for the pets and the chickens, water for the toilet, water for doing dishes...we needed more water. Last major storm had our power off for 9 days, after all.

So I filled plastic tote with about 12 gallons and put it beside the toilet for flushing; Larry filled all the buckets he could find for the animals and I filled empty plastic jugs, about twenty of them, for use inside the house. We save plastic jugs for cider-making in the fall, but right now they're a useful backup. We also filled a 5 gallon cooler.

My next thought was, what if the power and the gas BOTH go off? How would we cook? That's a situation I had not considered. I have plenty of candles, so I could put a candle in a pot and heat food over that--not perfect but it should work well enough for food that only needs heating up. I'm making boiled eggs right now, as it will be plenty cold enough to keep them for a good while. Scones are in the oven too, so that's breakfasts taken care of. For lunch and dinner we have canned meats, canned soups, and lots of salads and veggies that can be eaten raw. I'll be on the lookout for a backup cooking device in the future. Just in case, you know!

I'm catching up all the laundry today so that everything is clean and the hampers are empty. Who wants to run out of clean underwear?? The lamps are filled and we have plenty of kerosene on hand. And of course, we have books of all kinds to keep up entertained and projects that can still got forward without power or gas.

So I think we're set. Mother Nature may be acting up, but I hope we'll be able to ride out her temper tantrum all right. And if you don't see me posting for a few days, you'll know that we're busy playing pioneer and will have lots to tell you when we get back online. Keeping my fingers crossed that all our preparations are for nothing but a little snowfall.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

The 2003 Ice Storm

Six years ago this week, our county was blasted by a serious ice storm. We use it as a watershed reference ("that happened before/after the ice storm") because the storm wrought such devastationthat the forests still show the signs of its passing. Recently I came upon the photos I took of a small part of the damage.

This tree fell on the back of the house, poking a quarter-sized hole through the roof. Larry patched it with a piece of Formica and glue and the patch held until he could do a better job in good weather.

The sidewalk between the house and the car was completely blocked in many places by downed trees. We had a lot of chainsaw work to do just to get to the car. Electricity was off for nine days. When it finally came back on, the power company had to send someone down to the house to tell us because we'd turned off the main breaker during the storm to prevent any surge damage if it came back on.

We were quite comfortable--plenty of ice to melt for water, lots of wood in the shed for heat, food in the cellar, and a tan of propane for the turkey fryer (the one I've never used for turkey, but sure use a lot for other things!). The house phone worked for a while, and we had the cell phone to use outside if needed (no signal inside).

Neighbors got together to clear the road. We worked two hours to travel one mile, then drove to town. No place in town had electricity, but Wal-Mart was serving customers one at a time with a flashlight. Since we were among the first to arrive, we were able to get the things we needed--a battery radio, batteries, flashlight, corded phone, milk. Later they quit letting people in, so we were lucky. Then we drove another 20 miles to the closest open gas station that had gas and kerosene. After an hour and a half, it was our turn to get the rationed 5 gallons of kerosene. We were able to fill our gas cans and the truck, but later this station ran out of fuel. Again we were lucky.

All day long for two or three days we heard trees breaking. The sound was like gunshots, like the opening day of deer season intensified. Every three or four seconds another tree would break. It was nerve-wracking, knowing that we would not be able to anticipate which would go. We lost many, many trees and we still can't walk in the woods without remembering those days.

A neighbor driving up the road had a tree fall on his truck, totaling it. Another neighbor waited to go out, afraid a tree would fall on his new truck. Finally he ventured out and a tree fell on his truck as he drove down the road. It was scarily funny.

This is what the ridge road looked like one week after the storm. I was finally getting out to go to work, but it was like driving through a war zone.

With all the damage, fear, hard work and lost trees, still the storm was breathtakingly beautiful. I took this photo at 4am on a morning two or three days after the storm. The full moon is barely visible in a frozen blue world, looking more like a science fiction setting than the place we knew. But beautiful? Absolutely, painfully lovely.

It was an experience we haven't forgotten. Whenever the weatherman calls for ice, our stomachs clench, remembering those days in 2003 when the ice came.

Snow Pics 2

The ice goes out on Elk Fork as the rain forces the creeks up and out of their banks on Wednesday. Fortunately the rains stopped before we had flooding.

Larry shakes ice out of the White Oak so that we could drive under it without hitting the branches. White Oaks retain their leaves much longer than most oaks.

Lemon Balm makes a brown study in the ice and snow.

Otis loves the snow. Can you tell? He's everywhere in it, making paths, rolling, digging. He thinks we ordered it especially for him.

Looking homeward.

Snow Pictures 1

These were taken prior to the more recent snows. This was the foggy-snowy-rainy-icy day.

This first pic is looking up the driveway; you can see the slushy mess in the tracks.

The ice wasn't thick but it was and still is beautiful. The weather hasn't warmed up enough to melt it off.

Here you can see the thick fog hanging over the ridge. It was actually very pretty.

Ice-covered spirea looked like red lace.

Pine boughs still tied to the porch rail were a pretty, pretty sight.

It's an icy, snowy track out of Joe's Run. To the right over the bank is the lake. No one wants to go sliding at this point in the road.

The late Orville Hartley's home. It is mostly unoccupied but still maintained by his son. I love this little place; looking at it is a trip back in town. Note the well to the left. Joe's Run was up and muddy because of the pouring rains that changed to pouring snow.

Greater downtown Gay, West Virginia, looking like a Norman Rockwell painting. Pardon the blob on upper right of the picture--that was rain on my camera. This small community was once quite a thriving place, but has dwindled since the major roads took different directions over the year,s leaving the community fairly isolated--but still the main route of travel for people who live in the very rural ares surrounding it. The road to the left is Peniel Road; to the right is Elk Fork. Both lead into Roane County, but one comes out on US Rte 33, the other after a winding way through the country on Rte 119. Where you reach 119 depends on which choices you make on the back roads.

Traveling the driveway is good for an adrenaline rush these days. I'm proud to say my little Buick Rendezvous has been up to the challenge so far, even though it does scrape a little in the center. More snow today will make the trip home interesting.

Snow, Ice, Rain, Fog, and More Snow

The weather has been winter. All-at-once, every-kind-of-bad-weather winter.

Yesterday's snow stopped with about 7 inches and it was beautiful. Overnight, the temperatures warmed up and it started to rain.

Rain!

With all that snow on the ground. The rain froze on contact to trees, buildings, plants, wires and anything else it hit. It was beautiful and not worrying because the ice wasn't too thick.

Oddly, there was also a heavy fog--and flood warnings were out for flash flooding because of the rain and melting snow. How many kinds of weather can you have at once? At least five, apparently--snow, rain, ice, fog and flooding. Weird.

There is a saying "A January fog will freeze a hog" which means, I have been told, that you will have as many frosts in May as fogs in January. Have you heard that saying, or a different explanation of its meaning?

We managed to get the truck out and ran to town for milk and bread because there is more snow on the way. We stopped at Derek's to see the kid's igloo, and Larry took a sled for a run down the hill. I'll share pics when the internet is more dependable. The ice on Elk Fork was braking up and an ice jam caused the creek to back up pretty seriously. It was an interesting sight.

As we were leaving Derek's, the rain changed to snow and it quickly turned to almost blinding snowfall. I was so grateful to get home! Another 1/2" of snow was on the ground before that little squall moved on, and Larry decided it was now or never to move my Buick up the hill. We were both leery about the chance of success because the driveway is about 2 inches deep in slush, with ice under that--and his big 4WD pickup did some serious sliding on the way down the hill. Not encouraging.

But little Buick trotted up the hill without spinning a wheel, even pushing snow as it went. It is now safely located where we know I can get out in the morning unless we get another 6 inches of snow tonight.

Now we are waiting to see what the evening brings. Will the predicted snow arrive? Will the electricity go off again as the wind is picking up and icy branches are falling? We're staying tuned for the next episode in this winter weather blitz.

Some of my friends ask me why I live so far out, and I know the people I work with wonder the same thing. What can I say? This was home before I ever had a job, and I cherish the memories, solitude, and beauty of this place. Inconvenient it can certainly be, but no comfy house in town could provide me with the riches I find here. Those who live "out" know why I choose to stay.

The Woodshed is Full

...and it's no thanks to my efforts. Larry has been hard at work getting the wood in, and now only needs the "extra" pile of wood we always gather to take care of the fireplace.

In some ways, it was easier this year because so many trees died. The drought, you know, and a few struck by lightning. It's been a tough year for trees and other plants.

In 2003, the ice storm that devastated so many trees that we've been cutting those for the past 3 years.

Now the drought has provided us with dead, dry wood for the stove. Even the heat and dryness has some small benefit, if dying trees can be called a benefit.

We will be warm this winter, thanks to Larry's work. Perhaps by next year we will have run the

lines for the free gas adn he won't have to worry about so much wood anymore. I'd bet he'll miss it.