Big storm in the northwest – the aftermath

I'm back!! After a long weekend of no electric power and internet access, I am ready to write again. A freak rain and windstorm went through my area around 3pm on Sunday afternoon. It was a nice warm afternoon (for a winter's day) and had sun breaks in the clouds. It was the one of day of the week that I did not have to put a turnout blanket on my old gelding, it was just that nice of a day.

I needed to make a trip into town for dog food and look at maternity clothing as a gift for a friend. I had been in Walmart for only 15 minutes when the power went out. The store clerks ushered us to the checkouts and when we got outside the winds were whipping and the rain was coming down at an angle.

The trip home was also an adventure. First the entire town was without any power. This added to my concern since my little car needed gas and there was nowhere to buy any. So with only enough gas to get home and perhaps down to town one more time, I had to get home during this unusual storm. The outskirts of town was where my little white knuckled trip began. As I drove my little commuter car up into the foothills, I had to slow down to a crawl repeatedly for downed tree limbs. I dodged the larger limbs and crossed my fingers that I did not come across any downed trees. Some spots in the road were literally covered in tree branches.

Of course when I got home, the power was off there as well. So began our 2 day wait for the power to come back on. Dealing with a power outage is a major event when you live in a rural area and rely on electricity to power your well pump for water. That means getting water to livestock and pets when no water comes out of the tap. Thankfully we have a seasonal creek that runs through 2 of our pastures and a year round creek in another one. That meant that the horses had to be let out to pasture, no matter how bad the weather was, just so they could get something to drink.  I had also filled the water troughs in pasture just a day before the big storm.

The power finally came back on late Monday night and the first thing I did was check on the horses in their stalls to make sure the autowaterers were working, then I flushed all the toilets in the house and took a shower. Waking up the next morning and having a cup of hot chocolate was such a pleasure. That same morning (this morning) I heard the yips and yaps of a coyote as I put the horses out to pasture. Now I know why the cats have been hanging around the house more.