Capricious Mother Nature

I've got some cleaning up to do.  

Capricious Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow Sunday afternoon blanketing the valley into winter wonderland.  It was stunningly beautiful.  The temperature dropped after dark and those big, wet flakes froze heavily in the forest.  Breaking tree limbs cracked like rifle shots throughout the night. 

It was a disaster zone next morning. The carnage of downed trees, shrubs, telephone lines meant no electricity.  No heat.  No internet, (I immediately suffered political junkie withdrawal.)   No telephone.  Intermittent text coverage. Seems cell towers operate on electricity.  Who knew?  Roads were blocked.

I have cereal for breakfast.

Made coffee on the campstove out on the front porch and people-watched. This town has 1000 people, many out and about, checking in with friends and neighbors. Dickey’s opened their doors, sans lights, for emergency hardware needs.  Jeremy McDaniels ran a generator to pump gas at his station.  Yoncalla Market opened, also in the dark.  This is the spirit of small town camaraderie.  Thank you Terry and Erin for coming to check on me.

I call it: Snow Day. It turned into three. 

My play day attitude lasted until 10:00 a.m., it was nippy on the porch and I realized this was going to last longer than four hours.  Thankfully I have a fireplace for heat.  Thankfully I laid in seasoned wood.  For the next two days I was home to toss on a couple logs every hour, to the point of sleeping on the couch to wake every hour to toss on a couple logs.  Much effort is required to burn wood.  I’m not complaining, even though it sounds like that.  It’s too dark to read.

I have cereal for dinner.

Day 2:  Ground coffee is gone, gone, gone.  There’s a touristy flavored packet deep in the pantry which I brew.  It’s awful. 

I have cereal for breakfast. And feed the fire.

The idea of entertaining myself without digital assistance is alarming.  It’s shocking to realize my dependence on digital devices. The fire is mesmerizing and I am unmotivated. A miner’s headlamp surfaced as did a good book and all is suddenly well.

I have cereal for dinner.  And feed the fire.

Day 3:  Power back up late in the afternoon!  A hot shower, a shampoo, I cracked a bottle of red and now I’m luxuriating in bed with both dogs snuggled at my feet, watching Jane Austen’s 2008 BBC adaption of “Persuasion” yet again, the one with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones (I’m crushing on him.That man is stunning in a stovepipe hat.) 

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