Surviving the Storm

Ah! The glory of indoor camping. Two days ago, the snow began to fall and by mid-afternoon, there was an accumulation of six inches. By eight o' clock, there was nine inches, and by nine forty five, to be exact, the house was engulfed in blackness. Thank goodness I am a bit obsessive-compulsive about preparing for things. I had four gallons of water stored in milk jugs in the laundry room. Because in the country...no electricity--no water. All the pet water dishes were filled to the brim. The goats had an extra bucket of water. The horse tank was topped off. Extra blankets-check. And I even had a wonderful goose down filled sleeping bag rated to thirty-two degrees. An emergency kerosene heater was ready at a moments notice with an extra canister of fuel, and the house was stocked on food. I ignored the battery backup on the fire detector that beeped every few minutes until that eventually died, and then the silent house shook slightly with the wind. Every once in a while, I could hear the snow load shifting and creaking on the roof. I checked on my animals at midnight. The horse was bedded down in all the extra shavings I bought, and the goats were huddled together. Normally the goat house is climate controlled and never drops below fifty degrees, so I did have some concern for one of my goats (shaved bald because he was at a show two weeks prior). I went to bed at one in the morning, anticipating that I would not be able to get to work later.And the snow kept falling...

At seven in the morning, I was surprised to discover that the electricity had not been restored. The house temperature had plummeted to fifty-two degrees. The cats and one of my dogs were huddled on my sleeping bag with me, and I was toasty warm. I got up to check on the goats and horse, and take a look at the damage--the fallen tree limbs, sagging sheds, and snow drifts that hinted of a later flood. Down at the end of my street, a utility truck was abandoned in a snowy ditch. An hour later, a wrecker came and pulled it out, and at exactly ten in the morning, as if it was planned that way, the power snapped on.

When I was able to watch the news later, I learned that my area received something like fourteen inches of snow, and that there hadn't been such a storm in thirty-two years. One hundred and eighty thousand homes went without power, and some, even now, have yet to be restored.