On
Sunday Night, our power went out. It went down sometime around 0030,
part of a hit of 1500 lightning strikes and an inch of rain. When we
got up in the morning, the power was still out – and was not
predicted to be on until Wednesday evening (update: Power came on at 2200).
Mind
you, we live in a growing metropolitan area of over a million people.
The thought to that recover in an urban area – did I mention how
high tech it is – would take three days boggles the mind somewhat.
Of
course, arrangements had to be made. The Ravishing Mrs. TB ended up
taking all the human folk with her work – and after a quick bit of
thinking, all of the refrigerated and frozen things to work with her
as well (yes, we had just gone to Costco only the night before). The
bunnies were trundled off to the rabbit shelter for the duration
(bunnies really do not do well over 80 F). The Mighty Poppy is here
for the duration, as is Kiki the bird.
One
thing I always forget in a power outage is how quiet the house is
without the power. All of the little subtle noises that form the
undertone of modern life – the refrigerator and the icemaker
dumping ice, the air conditioning flickering off and on, all are
gone, leaving a sort of pregnant silence in their wake. The cry of
doves and the other outside birds and the occasional motor car are
the only things that disturb the clickety clack of my keyboard.
This
always brings to mind all the classic great lessons of course: back
up power, or at least back up storage. Do not rely on technology.
Have something you can cook with gas/fire. Check your supplies so
that when you have to use them, you know they are there.
But
oddly enough, the best quote for the day was from The Ravishing Mrs.
TB, confronted with the possibility that power would not com on until
later tonight: “The pioneers did it. We can manage for one
night.”
Very true. But they preserved food differently, cooked differently, and weren't used to all the modern conveniences. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut glad it was less than a day, and that you are all okay!
Ha ha ha, that's funny. I'm sure you can manage one night too lol. We're so used to the comforts of modern living though. I just always fear power outages more in the winter because of the cold.
ReplyDeleteLinda - You are exactly right. The food was the biggest concern and potentially the greatest loss. Without preserving it appropriately - pickling, fermentation, canning - you are pretty much reduce to whatever is available fresh. Definitely something to consider.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of funny Rain. The fact that it essentially completely changed our entire day is to be born in mind as well.
ReplyDeleteHere the cold and heat would be bearable without climate control - but only just, I suspect.