Updated Monday, December 17, 2007 – to include photos of this memorable stormRather than making a new entry, I will update this one, with photos, as I have received several questions about how bad it was. So, here they are:
It started as a pleasant snow fall on Monday:
Tuesday morning we awoke to ice on the trees – we lost power later that morning, until late Saturday morning:
By Wednesday morning trees started breaking apart with the weight of the ice, some losing a good part of their branches, and others just a few branches:
I wonder how much weight is on these branches, to make them touch the ground? And what strength, to keep from breaking off!
I am sure our feathered friends suffered quite a bit, as seed would not flow – we started spreading bread crumbs on the ice and snow:
Some spears would later start to fall off, making it painful if one happened to fall on a bare or bald head:
A Winter wonderland, regardless of the damage it caused:
We incurred some damage – this shed is lost:
We won’t know about the heat pumps until we start running at higher temperatures – we are currently on Emergency Heat, which means the furnace is strictly on gas, without assist from the heat pumps:
Our daughter and her girls stayed with us for most of the power outage, as the farm house also lost power. The BIG question was: HOW do we satisfy a 3-year old girl’s love of corn dogs without the benefit of electricity to the ovens? Why, in the fireplace, of course, using this invention by my wife:
My thanks to all who have asked about us. And a HUGE THANKS to the linemen to worked with the crews to restore power to our place. The linemen came from Southern Illinois, and the crews came from El Paso, TX, to restore electricity to our area. And many other crews came from several states, as far away as Colorado and Pennsylvania.
THANK-YOU ALL. Merry Christmas, our best wishes for a wonderful New Year, and our sincere thanks.
—— Al
Friday, December 14, 2007Keywords: power lost ice storm
I want everyone to know that we have been without power since Tuesday, December 11, 2007. We had a terrific ice storm that swept through the Mid-West, and into Chicago.
The latest estimates are that we could be without power until Christmas. We are staying in good spirits, and hoping that it happens sooner than that. At least we have gas, which allows us to cook; and I hope that we will have enough fire wood to keep the fireplace going.
We are safe and sound, although a house at 50°F can feel cold… My best wishes to all who have been less fortunate than us.
And, if I cannot contact you before then, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
—— Al
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