Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Friday, July 12, 2013

36 Hours ~ Power is Back On


On Wednesday, we had the worst storm we have had since we've lived here.  The winds were absolutely terrible.  Our electrical service district, along with one other, were the worst hit in the area. I texted my mother and she was also about to head under her house for this storm. It was was that bad.  




That morning, I had checked the weather.  Not one drop of rain was in the forecast, let alone any storms.  I was pulling out to go pick up one daughter at a sleepover, when Mom texted that a tornado went through my cousin's town, just missing their house.  She also said more storms were on their way.  I'm thankful she warned us. Even our porch furniture was blowing across the porch.  Timmy, the newest barn kitty was confused in what to do.


When the power didn't come on after 5 or 6 hours, I knew it would be a longer time.  Thankfully, it came on at 3:50am this morning.


We suffered damage to 2 barns.  One barn completely lost the metal roofing.  The wind tore in off in seconds.  Piece of drain spout and barn wood were ripped off with it.  The loft caved in in the big barn.

Tree limbs were everywhere and yesterday we started the clean up.  I think we have enough brush for a couple of bonfires this summer.


My kids, you know how they are, found ways to entertain themselves.  They played board games, read books, and played glow-in-the-dark frisbee.  Some of the girls washed their hair in rain water (from the rain barrels).


I resorted to heating water on my grill, for a much needed cup of coffee.  Thankfully, we had some instant on hand.  It was too wet and windy to build a fire.


It wasn't hard for me to find something to keep myself busy either.  I kind of enjoyed being able to sit and read a book, and not worry about laundry, garden, canning, or cleaning.

We got out all of our solar powered, and battery powered do-dads, and just dealt with it.  We filled jugs of rain water to flush toilets too.  Not a big deal.  It was the fridge and freezer that were stressing me out.  If the power had not come back on, we'd be looking for somewhere to empty and store our stock.  The refrigerators had already been emptied and place in coolers with ice.  We were even considering buying a generator, as word around town was that it could be 3 full days of power outage.

Yesterday, I was at Mom's with some of the girls getting much needed showers, when my brother called her.  His neighbor had a tree down and needed help.  

Hubby had just had a shower at his nephew's, and when I called he said to meet up at home, and 4 of us will go help my brother and his neighbor.  


At 9:00pm we pulled out with a truck load of wood, and a very, very happy family.  My brother's neighbor couldn't stop thanking us.  The were so happy we helped cut up the down tree, and helped drag all of the brush to the crub. They were amazed at house fast we completed the job.  We thanked them for the wood.  Upon arriving home we were so tired that I told Hubby to park the truck, and take my car to work.  Today, the kids and I have a job to finish - unload the wood, put away the chainsaw, and other tools.

This morning I had a notion to pretend the power never came back on, but the kids figured it out before I could drag my tired body out of bed.  My 16 year-old is already at the griddle mixing up pancake batter for pancakes and sausage. I'm glad the power is back on, but will miss that quiet hour on the porch while I heated water.


All in all, all of the farm animals, including barn cats, came out of this storm unhurt.  Amazingly, our billy goat's (Orion's) "Buck Hut" was never touched in the storm, and is directly behind the barn that lost it's roofing.

One last note.  Hubby told me last night that one of his co-workers couldn't believe he had left me home with no electricity.  We both laughed at that.  I told him, "What woman in her right mind would complain about not having to do laundry, housework, garden work, canning, or any other work?"  They would have to be nuts.   Of course, to us, it felt simply like camping.  I really enjoyed sitting around reading a book, and not hearing all the daily noise that comes with the indoor appliances.  It was somewhat freeing for the mind.

16 comments:

Willow said...

Glad you are so resourceful, and have a good attitude about it all. Stay safe and hope the weather behaves better for you.
Willow

Tombstone Livestock said...

Glad you didn't suffer any really serious damage. Instant coffee is not one of my favorites, I do have a coffee filter basket that you can put over a pot or a thermos, and make regular coffee, or put a filter in a funnel for just one cup. Baskets on the pots that pause so you can remove the pot don't work.

Unknown said...

Glad you are all safe. Sounds like your house was ok, except for power. Winds can be so scary, we almost had a major tree branch take out our whole coop last year. Luckily not the house, or we'd have had to evacuate...

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

You ARE resourceful.
I don't know that I've had to resort to heating water on the grill for coffee...in the winter the wood stove is usually going so during any power outages we are helped by the heat, and cooking source.
I am like you though, when the power comes on after being off a long time...doesn't the hum of all the appliances just sound so LOUD?!
glad you and your household are all doing well.
Great work getting that firewood.
Pat

Candy C. said...

Dang, glad you and all the animals are okay!! That was some big wind to rip the roof off like that! I hate being without power because our well runs on electric.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Our well is run on electric too. No power - no water. We collected rain water to flush toilets, and we ran to town for water for the animals and us.

Kim said...

I am sorry about your damage. But glad for the safety of the family and the animals. When the power is off I always try to learn where our weak spots are and what we need to strengthen before the next time. It seems you need a hand pump on that water supply.

EMMA said...

Goodness, you do get some bad storms don't you! Glad no body or no animals were hurt, but your barns definitely look worse for wear!

Winnie said...

Wow, that was one powerful storm!! Maybe your homeowners insurance will now allow you to fix up the barns to be stronger and more serviceable to your needs ? I am like you, time unplugged is such a nice thing sometimes. It is sad we have to wait for power to be off before we can give ourselves permission to enjoy simple pleasures!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Happy you are all okay! Hope the cleanup goes well!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Kim, I have the hand pump on our wish list, but Hubby and I just haven't looked into the brands available. I think Lehman's had them, but we do need one for sure.

Anonymous said...

Those winds can be scary. We had a tree come down on our house last summer. We had a generator for which I was thankful as we were out of power 11 days. It's a life saver for your fridge and freezer.

Anonymous said...

Those winds can be scary. We had a tree come down on our house last summer. We had a generator for which I was thankful as we were out of power 11 days. It's a life saver for your fridge and freezer.

Anonymous said...

Those winds can be scary. We had a tree come down on our house last summer. We had a generator for which I was thankful as we were out of power 11 days. It's a life saver for your fridge and freezer.

Missy said...

Those winds can be scary. We had a tree come down on our house last summer. We had a generator for which I was thankful as we were out of power 11 days. It's a life saver for your fridge and freezer.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to hear you had basically minimal damage and everyone came through OK including all the barn kitties! Wind is one of the things that scares the heck out of me...! Living rural I hear you about the opportunity of having the unusual quiet that comes along with no electricity! I enjoy it and as you said, treat it like camping. DH unfortunately does not see it the same way and once it gets dark he, well starts grumbling... he's a city boy through and through... what's a girl to do I love in spite of his non-country abilities, lol!
Hugs and hope no more storms come through your way for a while!
Beth P