Well, what a weekend! Our first storm of the season was an ice storm that left over an inch of ice on everything. It started Thursday afternoon and into Friday morning. I don't remember too much of the big ice storm of 1998 except that we were out of power for awhile, but this storm I won't soon forget.
Standing on my porch Friday morning, I heard large limbs and entire trees falling everywhere around my house. It was a little scary hearing the huge crashes of those trees that have stood up to hurricanes, Northeasters, and torrential rains that kept the ground saturated this year. I was very glad that I have no large trees close to my house. Then I began to wonder why I have planted dozens of different ornamental trees and shrubs on my property. Yes, it is for the nursery, but I wondered if that was a smart decision. Of course it is! Trees and shrubs add value to a home, and I need them to add focal points to the different gardens for patrons to view, but I still had to wonder.
The Pine trees took it real hard, as well as the branches and tops of Maple trees. There are more broken branches and trees than I have ever seen. Not just small trees, but huge trees. What amazes me is how the ice can be so devastating, but so beautiful at the same time! The ice just glistens when the sun shines though it. One good thing, I don't need to worry about where next years fire wood is coming from!
Driving down the roads, it looks like a bomb went off. Trees and limbs are on lawns, into houses, across roads, and of course over the electrical wires. Some houses have had the entire electrical wiring and meters ripped right off!
After the power went out on Friday, the fun began. The coldest two nights we have had this year. Luckily I have a wood stove which kept us warm, but some of the neighbors are not so lucky. I invited the woman across the pond to stay because she had no heat, and she did for awhile, then went to her daughter's house. We entertained ourselves by playing Racko and Uno. We had a blast! We should do that more often...with real lights of course.
Finding gas, drinking water, canned food, and batteries was a treat. Every gas station for more than 50 miles except two was out of power. The lines reminded me of the 70's gas crunch. there was no way I was waiting in that line for gas. I did find a gas station in a town about 50 miles away that was being run off a generator, and it had short lines. I am glad I drove the hour and a half to get there, but three hours driving on the bad roads for gas is crazy!
The grocery stores were filled with people, and the shelves were being emptied quickly. Luckily, I only needed to get some soup, a few gallons of water, and a loaf of bread, or so I thought. I forgot to get D batteries for the lantern. Of course, when I remembered on Sunday, there were none to be found anywhere. Luckily, I didn't really need them, the lantern never died.
The crowning moment, was when I cut a hole in the pond to get water to flush the toilets on Sunday. The very last cut sent up a geyser of water that drowned the chainsaw. Great....the one thing I really need to clean up the place, and I killed it! The saw spent the night inside the house in hopes that it would dry out. Monday morning, a few tugs on the cord, and it fired up. NICE!
I went to work clearing trees, and the power came on about 6 hours later. Figures; the last time we went through this, the power was out 2 weeks, and it finally dawned on me to cut a hole in the ice for water to flush the toilets. Within hours of cutting a hole in the ice, the power was on. Next time I lose power, I am immediately running to the pond to cut a hole in the ice! :-D
This whole experience has reminded me to keep an emergency kit available at all times. I used to have one, but over time, I "borrowed" stuff from it, and it never went back. I didn't use it for a year or two, so I figured I could use the items. I had every intention of replacing the item, but life intervened and I forgot.
I have already purchased a tote (the last one I "borrowed" for sand to put in the back of the truck for weight), and will start to add stuff like flashlights, batteries, water, canned soup, matches, first aid kit, and other essentials. Of course, if the items don't get used within a year, I need to remove them and REPLACE them with fresh stuff. I will set up a reminder that will pop up on the computer, as well as write it on my calendar.
Please consider an emergency kit if you don't have one, and if you do, is it up to date? A large plastic tote makes a great container for a kit. Keep it stocked with essential items, and don't forget to rotate the items to keep them fresh. Make sure everyone knows it is for emergencies only, and knows where it is kept. It is also a good idea to be sure you have a can of fresh gas on hand at all times. Do you have a charger for you cell phone that plugs into your lighter in the car? Mine came in very handy when I needed it. A small radio that runs on batteries is an important item also. I kept up to date with the weather forecast, and was able to better prepare for the very cold nights without electricity that were coming.
One other note: Be sure your smoke detector batteries are fresh, and you have working fire extinguishers handy! When the power was restored in a local community, a house caught fire. It is a complete loss. I am not sure if the owners were home at the time, but if so, the smoke detectors may have saved their lives.
Dwayne Haskell owns and operates Mistkits.com where complete misting kits, individual components, and advice can be found. After building his own misting system for his nursery, he realized he could design and build systems for small nurseries or home gardeners who are interested in starting their own plants from cuttings.
He has written an E-book titled Build an Arbor in Just One Weekend, and another on gardening, landscaping and plant propagation tips. He also enjoys teaching others how to grow their own landscape plants and owns and moderates the Mistkits blog, where you can find more articles, polls, and quizzes on landscape and gardening related topics. Be sure to grab your own copy of an E-book when you visit!