Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Thar She Blows

The wind came up rather suddenly Sunday. I decided to check on the chickens, who were cowering in the their coops like, well, chickens. One red hen appeared to be missing, perhaps blown away in the great gusts of wind that were sent by my Texan friends, gales leftover from Ike. But looking up at the towering oak trees which normally shaded the coops, I worried that I might be impaled by one of the several dead limbs. (Later, I found that she was in the coop after all, hiding under her brother.) That was the beginning.

Now, I write to you from a neighbor's house, where they still have power. Though only a half mile from here, my house sits quietly, disconnected from the electrified world. The first night, it was rather peaceful. No electric humming, just candlelight and once in awhile, our radio as we checked hopefully for news that our power would return. I enjoyed going to bed in the quiet. It was rather like going back in time.

We have tried to make the best of this, looking at the positives. With no TV, we've made a campfire, roasted marshmallows, cooked on the grill, read by candlelight, listened to the radio. We have been fortunate to have plenty of water and a neighbor with power for Internet and hot showers, and a generous, hospitable nature. Okay now, I WANT MY ELECTRICITY! THE FUN IS OVER! Seriously.

Nearby neighbors have begun firing up generators, and I believe about four run nightly. It sounds like a #$%*&^ airplane is hovering over our roof (which is a total loss, thanks to the winds), disturbing my fantasy that I am either Amish or have gone back into time. It is a low throbbing sound, very annoying. Can they not live for a few days without it?

We have reminded ourselves daily of our blessings. No one was hurt. My husband can still go to work. We have water and a working septic tank. We have food to eat. StuffMart is nearby. We have friends who help. Our town is being raided for gasoline by nearby city folk, but I still have a bit to get around.

Last night, we went to a concert at a nearby University which still has power. With the exception of not being able to share my poor mind drippings on my blog, the Amish really may have something, you know? They accept only improvements and conveniences that bring a family closer, shunning those things that do not bring the family closer. In some ways, this has been an experience that brings us closer. That said, did anyone tape Bones or House?

4 comments:

pita-woman said...

Well sorry, I've never seen Bones, & try as I might, I just can't get into House. You're probably thankful where as I'm VERY bummed that USA channel has taken L&O off in the evenings and replaced it with House & Burn Notice. Grrr!
We lost cable tv for about 36 hours but I never really missed it. We couldn't watch regular tv either, so I had to make do w/listening to the radio while I got ready for work, & just invision the anchors as they reported the news.
Yeah, it's kind of fun for a couple of days, but living w/out the luxuries we're used to can get old after a couple of days. Hope you're back to normal soon!

debra said...

It WAS an incredible wind, wasn't it. We were without power on and off and then off for good. The tree guy is coming back this evening to finish taking down a huge old sugar maple that is as old as this old house (1830's). The tree is dangerously cracked. I am sad.

camflock said...

Isn't that the sign of a TRUE blogger when the electricity is out -- you spend your few moments of power on writing a blog entry?!

Kristina said...

I just want you to know that while Gary brought home a generator from work, we only ran it during the day (that refroze the ice in the freezer long enough to keep our food from going bad overnight). I can't stand the sound of generators at night.

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