Situation normal
12 degrees, 8″ of new snow with no end in sight at this hour…filling the generators for the overnight.
See you tomorrow!
Changes in attitude
So it’s all about attitude now. I cannot begin to describe the aura around those of us who are affected by the lack of power. New Hampshire, being typically used to weather crisis, is really pooling all we have to stay cheerful despite the prolonged estimates for power restoration. Today was no different. We had 4 inches of snow, the first storm of three to converge on us by the end of Sunday, all snow events. So of course, those of us without power, working from generators, are thinking oh boy, this is going to prolong any progress back to normal energy.
Last night our dearly beloved Onan propane generator started to sputter and spew, here and there. I was nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof, imagining the consequences of it’s potential failure. The generator is 40 years old, we bought it from an older couple 10 years ago and it was still a solid machine. We have used it time and time again on the farm and it has always pulled us through. The house is wired to accommodate all of what we need with the generator but most important is water, for the animals and us, and heat for the house. After that lights and creature comforts are a treat.
This morning I decided to turn the generator off for the day, give it a rest. The temperatures were in the 30’s.I was headed to Harrisville at noon to meet our dear friend Leslie who had to evacuate her home but we had to save as many houseplants as we could until she could return to her home. Leslie and Harrisville are dear to our hearts. We lived there from 1983-1995. This is the home we lived in, today. Returning today proved difficult, to see the devastation from the ice storm. And I was seeing the damage one week after the storm departed.
I got to Harrisville and saw a 10% sale sign at Harrisville Designs store. Made a stop there for a fiber fix although it was out of heat and lights. I bought some fiber and the new Spin-Off and met Leslie for lunch at the store. 
Then we commenced to lugging her beloved plants (some 20) to my truck and her car. We found a warm and cozy destination in Dublin where they could live out this crazy interim.
This is the road from Harrisville to Dublin, Leslie is in front of me and I was looking at the roadsides thinking what a mess! Trees down on lines all the way. And Leslie was thinking, wow, this looks like a super highway compared to a week ago. It’s what you get used to, I guess.
We hugged and said our goodbyes and I headed west for Westmoreland. While I was in Harrisville Jack and I, by telephone decided we’d better buy a new generator, in the event the Onan died. Jack bought the generator and made arrangements with Hamblett Electric to meet him at the farm this afternoon at 4 PM to set up the new generator.
I got a call from Jack on the way home that the Onan wouldn’t start. It had died. 4 PM and a storm on the way. This is the stuff that makes you tough. You have to be one step ahead all the time. We need water for the animals, heat for the house. It becomes survival mode.
I got home at 4PM, Jack was ready with the new generator and dear Topher Hamblett arrived soon thereafter and commenced the set-up to the new generator. I started a fire, did the sheep chores and nestled the chickens in for the night. By 6PM we were back in business with hardly a blink, but oh my it was apt to be much different.
Living in a cold climate is a challenge and albeit beautiful but in a heartbeat everything can change. Tonight, Leslie is warm and safe, her houseplants are warm and safe and our farm is warm and safe. One day at at time, tonight is good.
Day Six
Yesterday I was soooo sick of the drone of the generator I turned it off for a few hours. It is located in our shed off the kitchen so the room we spend the most time in has become a not so peaceful place.
But today I LOVE my generators again! We would be up a creek without a paddle at this point between no water for the sheep and chickens and what we did have would constantly freeze. We would have no heat, lost food in the freezer and would have to kennel the pets and leave.
This power outage due to the ice storm last Thursday, the worst in the history of New Hampshire and also Public Service Company of NH, has made me realize how unprepared we all are in the event of something more widespread and catastrophic. Once this mess is behind us, Long Ridge Farm is making improvements to our systems to be sure we can manage under long periods of power outages. We have had a full system generator for the house for 10 years and used it regularly. We lose power here frequently as we are on a line that runs though three towns and a lot of woods. We are the end of the line so we’ll be last to get the power back. This morning PSNH told me to plan on not a couple or a few but multiple days more without power. I wanted to sob but there is no time for that now.
We are presently warm, dry and safe, the sheep and chickens have heated water buckets and a warming lamp for the chicken coop. I was doing the chores this AM and realized how normal the sheep barn is. They don’t know any difference from any other day. There was a certain peace there as I just stood and watched them eat their hay, the barn clean, snow falling. The hum from the generators far enough off to sound soothing.
I let the hens out for a bit this morning and they all ran down to the big barn and huddled on the porch there. I took Sidney for his walk and when I came back I thought “time for you birds to go to your house, too cold and snowy”. Grudgingly they went and are quite warm and cozy now. More to come as the days come and go.
The power of nuno
We are still without power…going on day 4 now. Thankfully and I mean THANKFULLY we have two generators and they have been running 24/7. The sheep have powered water buckets, the chickens a water heater, my studio is able to be heated and keep the water line from freezing, the house and cabin are warm and with water. Today I finally got brilliant and unplugged the fridge long enough to get online to do some work. It works great! I have felt disconnected without checking in with friends and Ravelry doings and blogs! This was the scene yesterday morning as I looked out the bedroom window. The sight was breathtaking despite the fact another day appeared to be without the power restored.
This is a photo a friend sent from Peterborough, NH on his road. Finally crews were able to chainsaw their way down the road to get to them and help them evacuate. It will be a week for many areas until life is somewhat normal again. For many the damage to homes is catastrophic.
I did escape yesterday afternoon to take a nuno felting workshop in Brattleboro. It was a great time, completely fun and what a great technique to learn. I love it! Mine are the two front pieces in the upper photo, turquoise and burgundy. They may become wristlets adding some buttons to hold them in place. Very cozy! A few of us took our still wet completed projects across the street to a bistro and enjoyed libations and nachos. I came home renewed and enlightened!
Icecapades
We are having a nasty ice storm in NH. It’s pretty wide spread in the southern third of the state. Last night it poured buckets of rain that coated everything with an inch of ice. The power went out last night and we switched to generator power and expect to being this mode for another day anyway. The sheep are pretty cozy in their barn and were happy for a visit and feeding this AM. In the woods up behind us we could hear the big pines cracking as they fell to the ground.
I let the hens out this morning as it isn’t really cold….they scurried over to the shed and started instantly dusting in the dirt. Not fazed in the least by the state of affairs.
And Webster is keeping watch on the birds as they feed. He hunkers down beneath the window and thinks he’s being pretty crafty ducking as they fly by the window.
We are all safe. And presently in Keene to get some more bird seed, gasoline for the generator and a special request for danish for an elderly neighbor who is house bound. Then back to the hill to wait out the melting.
