Well it feels like forever since I last posted so I’ll give
you the highlights of “Post Tropical Storm Arthur”.
I finally have power, phone and internet!
Day 1 - Saturday – Storm day – Up at 6 am, put on the
kettle, head outside to see what’s happening – wow that wind is strong! Back in
for my coffee and the power is out, kettle is still cold – drat! Time to get
out the butane burner, hook it up and get the coffee rolling. Wind is really strong, already the neighbour
has 4-5 trees down in their driveway and one that almost hit their house. Larry
goes off to lend his assistance in cleaning things up. Before noon - this isn’t so bad the wind is
dying out and looks like the sun will shine, still no power. Checked out the hood – a few trees here and
there but doesn't look too bad. Oh I spoke too soon – the wind is back in
another direction, sun is gone, some rain and more trees are falling! We
actually were quite fortunate – no major trees in our yard, just lots of
leaves. The front of the house looked like it was dressed in camouflage. Still
no power. Afternoon storm entertainment
– let’s switch bedrooms. Maybe not the greatest idea since our bedroom doesn't
have good natural light but away we went – moved 3 beds (our queen and the two
twin size from the spare room), 4 dressers, 1 wardrobe and 1 vanity. Now
hopefully the front room is cooler and I will be happier. Larry’s idea was to
just switch the beds around – fooled him.
Now in hindsight maybe this wasn't so smart – getting hot and dirty with
no power and can’t bath but at the time we didn't know how long it would really
be. I headed to bed when the light left and read with a lamp for a bit.
Day 2 – Sunday – The following day – Well that second wave
of wind really made a difference yesterday – lot of trees on lines, etc. The
hood looks like a war zone and up the
road just as bad if not worse. Still no
power. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. The butane burner was a great investment a
few years ago. Sunday morning our landline and cell phones are dead. Big
problem now – no fire department paging system either. Aliant will come to charge the box up the
road. So maybe our power will be out for
a few days, need to think about the freezer and fridge. We move the meat from
the freezer up the road where they have a generator that will run both their
freezer and fridge. Time to see if we can get the small generator of ours going
to run the fridge. So it’s going but not happily, off to town for gas. Saw the
Laughing Gulls in town that appeared from the storm, wish I could have gotten
around to see what else arrived. Scallops, Swiss chard and beet greens for
supper – living high on the hog as they say. Still no power. Larry has lugged
some water upstairs for washing up and flushing. I decide to heat up a pot of
water and add it to the 15L of well water I’ve dumped in the tub. I suffered it out – Larry whined and accused
me of trying to give him a stroke. Another early night – down with the sun we go.
Day 3 – Monday – Off to work, plan is that I will return at
noon with Larry when he comes home with more gas for the generator and then I
can keep it going all afternoon, evening til he gets home from work. Never thought there wouldn’t be any power at
my work – after all it is the Town building. I hang around and wait for Larry,
check emails etc from a friend’s laptop. Of course the generator doesn’t want
to work when we get home – spark plug is no good. Changed, good to go, Larry
heads back to work. What to cook for
supper umm…. Pasta with tomato sauce, fresh basil and grated cheese on top.
Things are still going well. Cell phones are back, still no land line – where
is Aliant ? They’ve dropped the ball, lied through their teeth and still
haven’t showed up. Still no power. Another early night. The humidity has
returned, it’s hot and I’m not sleeping well without my fan.
Day 4 – Tuesday – Camping in the house is beginning to wear
thin. Off to work we go. Still no power
there but I grab a bath at Mom and Dad’s and toss in a load of laundry. Back home I go. Still no power or land line.
Lexi and I roam a bit, do a few things around the house and keep the generator
going. The heat is bad; finally I give
up, throw on a tank and shorts and head to Lois’ – ok girl time to go swimming!
She’s always after me, but I haven’t been swimming in years and don’t own a
bathing suit anymore. The lake felt good and refreshing. Finally Aliant shows
up but not before he gets lost. By supper time we have land lines again! The
power trucks are in the area too, wohoo – finally some action. They cut trees
and branches off of lines and then head off again. Surely we will have power
when we wake up. Supper – pork chops, swiss chard from the garden, and corn
from the freezer – all good. Dorothy
calls from Freeport, Digby Co., their power has been restored and she’s
checking to see if I’m still alive. Yup but getting cranky. Larry too is tired
of lugging water from the well after working long days. He bathed in the lake
after supper – still complaining about cold water. Another early night, the
trucks go back down the road. Still no power.
Day 5 – Wednesday – I am tired of getting up in the morning
and listening to that damn generator drowning out the sounds of the birds. Yes
I know I should be grateful, but this morning I don’t feel terribly healthy
either. A rather sleepless night, hot and Lexi fussed and barked most of Tuesday night. Come to find out, it seems a bear wandered through, Larry saw signs of
it when he was out with Lexi in the morning.
Off to work. Back home after lunch, still no power. So it finally came
back around 1:30 and it was time to spend the afternoon clearing up the
aftermath. Got the pump primed and going, some stuff from the freezer put in buckets
to toss out in the composter, laundry caught up, water jugs filled and returned
under the counter, etc. Larry helped me finish cleaning the bottom of the freezer – I’m too short and the last time I tried to
lean too far into a freezer, I cracked ribs. It’s been a long hitch, the 5 days
feels like 10 days. An early night but after a hot bath and my
fan went back in the window!
Just a few photos this morning, didn't take a lot during the storm.
The Yellow Bellied Sapsucker was at one of our apple trees in the middle of the storm.
Just a few of the fallen trees in the hood that landed on lines.
Love those little Northern Parulas.
Laughing Gulls hanging out at the Irving Garage in town.
An immature one I think.
Enjoy your day!
