The Chickadee Feeder

VACATION’S OVER

VACATION’S OVER

At 5 PM Friday, after 5 days without electricity, 8 weary men (some from 6 hours away) spent an afternoon at our house putting the electric lines back up.  I really really wish I had had something to give them; even candy bars would have been nice!  (Note to self:  for next time)

Now it’s back to work, sigh:  laundry.  Vacuuming.  Cleaning.  Shopping for food.  Fetching back our Freezer Food From Friends (the 5 F’s).

Something I have to unlearn:
Not to reach for the flashlight in my pocket when I want to go to the basement.

Something I should consider more:
Not to have so many lights on all at the same time.
Keep better track of what exactly is IN that freezer.
Go to bed earlier.

Something quite exciting:
I have a completely totally clean refrigerator and freezer.  Yee-haw!

DAY 5

I’ve come to appreciate knowing when the sun rises and when it sets; and which windows it shines into at what particular times; and the difference a full moon makes in the night.

We’re leaning into the basics now, and while the day doesn’t have a complete rhythm, small aspects of daily living are becoming more natural, such as how to wash your face with a jug of water in one hand, and what routines need to be done when the generator runs.  Carrying a flashlight in my pocket is second nature now.

I watch someone in town spraying water simply to wash their driveway, and it comes home to me once again how valuable water is to our lives and how blessed we are in this part of the country to have so much of it (even if I myself have difficulty in getting it out of the ground at this point in time!).

While the trees have been cut off the line, we’re still waiting for the electric company.

Using a tree for a backdrop, the spider creates his everyday art.

Some things that have happened to me lately:

Yesterday we had 15 turkey hens and young ones browsing in our yard.

The generator stopped working yesterday afternoon.  But our friend came and fixed it.

My husband and I didn’t get supper last night.  I didn’t get much lunch, either, but we have plenty of fruit and some gluten-free zucchini bread.

The geese are getting ready to fly south, and they brightened the evening with their golden wings and eager cries.

Thirty minutes after our friend left, the carbon monoxide alarm went off in in our bedroom.  Today we have put a fan outside, to blow on the generator when it runs.

This morning I was awakened by a turkey gobbler.  And saw two red-shouldered hawks when I went to town.

I spent the morning at the laundry.  For the first time, I felt alone.  Always before, at the stores you can see other people who must be without electricity too–they buy cans of soup and water and batteries…but today I washed a whole lot of clothing with a bunch of single folks doing their little batches.  How blessed I am to have people living with me instead of being by myself in an apartment somewhere!

When I went to use SHOUT on the clothing stains, I saw to my dismay that last night in the dark I had grabbed the Nature’s Miracle pet odor remover instead.

I forgot to take hangers.

And last, but not least:  I bought a humongous cat litter box for our new little guy and filled it.  It was like watching children playing and splashing in the surf:  what joy, what feline abandon, what racing and flopping down and scratching and happiness!  AWESOME–MOM’S GOT ME A NEW SANDBOX!

DAY 5

I’ve come to appreciate knowing when the sun rises and when it sets; and which windows it shines into at what particular times; and the difference a full moon makes in the night.

We’re leaning into the basics now, and while the day doesn’t have a complete rhythm, small aspects of daily living are becoming more natural, such as how to wash your face with a jug of water in one hand, and what routines need to be done when the generator runs.  Carrying a flashlight in my pocket is second nature now.

I watch someone in town spraying water simply to wash their driveway, and it comes home to me once again how valuable water is to our lives and how blessed we are in this part of the country to have so much of it (even if I myself have difficulty in getting it out of the ground at this point in time!).

The air was delicious with the smell of fresh-cut wood that night.

While the trees have been cut off the line, we’re still waiting for the electric company.

Using a tree for a backdrop, the spider creates his everyday art.

Some things that have happened to me lately:

Yesterday we had 15 turkey hens and young ones browsing in our yard.

The generator stopped working yesterday afternoon.  But our friend came and fixed it.

My husband and I didn’t get supper last night.  I didn’t get much lunch, either, but we have plenty of fruit and some gluten-free zucchini bread.

The geese are getting ready to fly south, and they brightened the evening with their golden wings and eager cries.

Thirty minutes after our friend left, the carbon monoxide alarm went off in in our bedroom.  Today we have put a fan outside, to blow on the generator when it runs.

This morning I was awakened by a turkey gobbler.  And saw two red-shouldered hawks when I went to town.

I spent the morning at the laundry.  For the first time, I felt alone.  Always before, at the stores you can see other people who must be without electricity too–they buy cans of soup and water and batteries…but today I washed a whole lot of clothing with a bunch of single folks doing their little batches.  How blessed I am to have people living with me instead of being by myself in an apartment somewhere!

When I went to use SHOUT on the clothing stains, I saw to my dismay that last night in the dark I had grabbed the Nature’s Miracle pet odor remover instead.

I forgot to take hangers.

And last, but not least:  I bought a humongous cat litter box for our new little guy and filled it.  It was like watching children playing and splashing in the surf:  what joy, what feline abandon, what racing and flopping down and scratching and happiness!  AWESOME–MOM’S GOT ME A NEW SANDBOX!

THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS

It’s all been quite interesting and a little bit fun. 

THOUGHTFUL THOUGHTS

On Day 1 of No Electric, one tends to stand about, thinking thoughtful thoughts.  Day 2:  frantically moving freezer contents to all the homes of your friends.  Day 3:  driving long distances to get a friend’s generator (and shopping along the way, to make good use of the gas and the opportunity of leaving your small home town).  Day 4:  ah, rest at last?  Well…it takes a lot of time to chat with the good friends who let you use their shower, and the good friends who let you do such n such, and the good friends who do such n such.  And run the generator, dashing about getting jobs done while you’ve got a light.  And figuring out what to have for a microwavable supper, since all your food is in someone else’s freezer.

It’s all been quite interesting and a little bit fun.

  THE MAGIC BOX

THE MAGIC BOX

It totally amazes me what a small box can do–imagine, it makes lights come on, and water run from the faucet!  Some very good friends have loaned us a generator, and even though a large tree is sitting on top of our internet cable line, apparently it still works.  We are very grateful to have cold water, lights, computer, and perhaps even a little bit of television tonight–off and on, of course!

Our house the preceding nights–a full moon really helps.

A battery-operated computer, attached to dial-up (the phone line is almost touching the ground and is under a huge downed tree, but it’s intact), to my husband’s workplace.

A PENNSYLVANIA HURRICANE

Our house stands in an ocean of trees.  Surf was up last night.  Waves of roar sounded, along with the crack of breaking hulls.  This morning there was a sea of leaves in the yard.

Now we’re learning how to do without.

A PENNSYLVANIA HURRICANE