DAY 20 – A PRESENT-DAY REPORT

 

Today we let our farmhouse family of 1930 continue their Christmas preparations while I tell of real-time trials.

Road blocked

At 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning (Dec. 17), my phone warned of tornado-force winds for the next 45 minutes. As Mike and I sheltered in our cozy bed, we also thought of those tall pines at the farm and worried about damage, especially to the house. Yesterday (Friday, Dec. 19), we drove in to check.

Looking back toward Jeep

“Hallelujah!” exclaimed Mike as the farmhouse came into view. We could see that she stood free and had sustained no damage, but as we rounded the bend toward the lane, our progress was abruptly blocked by a large downed pine tree and branches. As I disembarked from the Jeep, I heard the neighbor’s generator running and knew that we had no electricity.  We walked up the lane to the house, where we discovered the electricity had been off for some time, evidenced by thawing food in the freezer.

Tree blocks lane

Mike was immediately in “git ‘er done” mode. He set up the generator to run the fridge, and as he pulled on his coveralls, he assigned me to call Clearwater Power and the county road department. “Don’t even ask for an estimated time of restoration,” said a recorded message at Clearwater Power. “We are swamped with multiple outages throughout the region.”

Technically, the downed tree was lying on a county road, so my next call was to the county road department. The dispatcher sounded young. I was polite as I described the problem and asked if it would be all right for Mike to begin removal. The dispatcher contacted her supervisor and called me back. To my surprise, she reported that two men would drive out to help us but meanwhile, we could start on it ourselves. I admit that I was dubious that they would come, but she assured me that workers were on their way.

Cutting into sections

So, as Mike cut the downed limbs, I piled them. “What a pity to waste these good fir boughs,” I thought to myself, remembering how my dad decorated our house with DIY wreaths back in the day. Then Mike began to cut the trunk where it blocked the lane.

We had worked the better part of an hour when the county guys showed up in an old pick-up with a plow on front. One guy commenced to stack limbs while the other got his saw and made further cuts on the trunk. Then the three men rolled the trunk sections out of the road so that the lane was accessible. The county finished by pushing remaining tree parts to the roadside with the old pick-up, and with a hearty “Merry Christmas,” they drove out of sight.

Pine tree in grove snapped off

But this tree was not the only damage. A pine on the north end of the grove snapped and fell into the north field. There are limbs in the pond, and the yard is littered with limbs and various tree debris. But we are so relieved. It could have been so much worse. The house is fine, and even though the electricity is off, the poles and lines are intact. And Mike, who has been worried about where his next firewood would come from, is almost gleeful. He even ordered a new saw.

Limbs in pond

Mike lit the stove for me, and I warmed soup for lunch. Then he worked another hour at the tree in the lane while I packed up the perishables from the freezer and refrigerator. Thankfully, nothing spoiled and is now safely stored in town.

In the past, the farmhouse saw many Christmas celebrations, but we aren’t sure it will happen this year. Without electricity, we don’t have water either. Grandma Ina never had electricity or plumbing in this farmhouse, and she kept her perishable food in a cold house. I hear her laughing at us all the way from 1930. KW