Ice Then Snow Then No Power

New Year's day we had an ice storm. Very early Saturday morning, around 3 am (I was outside with Murphy), big, beautiful snowflakes fell. By the time we got up later, around 7, we had nearly five inches of snow on the ground. Because the ice hadn't melted before it began snowing, and because there was no wind, the snow blanketed everything in a thick layer. The result? A gorgeous winter landscape like I haven't seen in many, many years. 

The treeline behind my house. I love the almost
sepia tone look my camera gave to the image.

The maple at the back of my yard. So far it 
seems like the maple trees are fairing best.

My street as we head home on our walk.

The downside is all the weight of ice and snow on the trees has taken a toll. Lots and lots of tree damage. I have two tall pines on the property, and one is decimated. The village in which I live has lovely old trees, and so many have taken a hit. Every time we go out for a walk, it seems like I see more damage than I saw on the previous walk. It's actually quite sad to see all the downed limbs, some of which are quite large. 

Yesterday, I was outside with Murphy around 6 am. I heard a branch break (if you've never heard a branch break then crash to the ground you've missed out; it's fascinating and terrifying all at the same time) then a loud pop and sizzle. I could see sparks flying back behind my neighbors'  house. Then fire. I scooped up Murphy and put him in the house then ran over and knocked on my neighbors' door. No answer. I ran back to check on the fire and it was still burning. I really didn't know what to do, so I called 911. The fire wasn't close to the house, but there were two trees involved and I was afraid the fire might spread on both. I apologized to the dispatcher for calling 911, but he assured me it was perfectly fine to do so. 

As I waited for the firetrucks to arrive, I watched the lines burn. Electrical lines burning is scary! The flames got really big at one point, actually shooting out from the lines. The brightness of the fire forced me to look away. The fire would increase then die down then increase then die down. The hiss was almost as scary as the fire itself. Right before the first truck arrived, the fire died down. One fireman told me he could see the flames from the fire station a couple of blocks away. 

Once the firemen were there to keep watch and make sure the fire didn't spread, I returned home. About a half hour later, the power went out. The lines knocked down by the branch service my neighbors' house and my house. We ended up going 11 hours without power. Thankfully it was during the day and I had plenty of light. I finished one book -- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, which I highly, highly recommend -- and I got further into another book I just got -- The Practice by Seth Godin, which I highly, highly recommend, as well. I also wrote out some ideas for pieces I want to do more with, played with Ado and Murphy, and took a nice, long nap. It was a very relaxing day. And my little house stayed fairly warm despite no heat for 11 hours. I keep my thermostat at 63, and it only got down to 57. My favorite wool sweater, fleece leggings, and thick wool socks kept me nice and warm.

Today, as I was working on prepping for the spring semester, which starts in a week, the power went out again. I curled up in my big chair and read, took a nap, then worked on some writing. Four hours later, right before the boys and I were heading out the door for a walk, the power came back on. The text message I received said a tree had fallen on the power lines, knocking out power to 240 customers. I'm thinking the power going out might happen a couple more times, until the temps rise and the snow and ice melt from the trees.

So far, the beginning of 2021 has been interesting to say the least.