Ice Storm

On the December full moon - the Longest Night Moon - we got hit by the big ice storm. Freezing rain, sleet and snow fell with temperatures hovering at the freezing mark. Ice accumulated at over 1/2" and covered every surface. At 3 a.m. on Friday, December 12, power went out amidst the sound of tree limbs cracking. The temperature went down to 13 that night. The next day dawned pale and cold. It was like a crystal wonderland outside. The ice wreaked havoc, but the crystalline coating was breathtaking. Everywhere hung icicles. Every surface was encased with thick ice. Branch, limb, leaf, wire - all in suspended animation within its frozen wrappings. The day was gray, still and freezing. Temps never got over 22. We heard that most of the northeast was hit by the storm and a quarter million people in NY state alone lost power. We got a kerosene heater. On the way to the store, we noticed a huge amount of trees downed and blocking roads, toppling power poles and anything in the way. Friday night the temps got to 10. We heard on the battery-powered radio that it might be the middle of next week before rural areas (read Huntersland, NY) would get power. So, Saturday morning, we made a 5-hour round trip to the nearest store that had a generator in stock. DH hooked it up and it worked great. We were able to alternate running a space heater and lights to running the freezer (filled with organically raised beef and pork and lots of veggies from our garden) to the radio. Saturday night dipped down to single digits, but it wasn't too bad inside and no pipes burst! Sunday the sun was shining like crazy and as the temps made their way into the mid 20s, some ice started to break up from the wires. We ran to our youngest son's house (he still had power) and took a shower. Came back home and ran heaters and such some more. The sun shining on the ice-covered hillside really was amazing. Then, bless National Grid, power was restored to our house at 2 p.m. 2 1/2 days of no power in such cold temps was more than enough for me! We are astounded at how quickly the crews restored power, although we realize many are still without power. The magnitude of the storm was huge. Kudos to National Grid and all the hard-working crew!