Nor'easter

I won't be blogging for awhile - the wires leading to my house are buried under a pile of trees and limbs - so I have no electricity and no internet. This is being sent from another location. My three doggies and I braved the storm.

October 30, 2011 The Snowstorm in October.

It is very quiet

The power is off

Snow is falling heavily

I climb out of bed and look out at snow covered piles of broken branches

The trees are bending double

My driveway is blocked

I can’t get out and it will be dark in an hour

No work for me tonight, I make the call

I let the dogs out and feed them

The house is cold, I build a fire in the wood stove

I need more wood

I can hear the tree limbs cracking and crashing as they hit the ground

I move us down to the living room

Blankets on the sofa, warm socks, slippers, my headlamp

A battery radio

The dogs are curling up in front of the stove

Something heavy falls on the roof

It will be dark in half an hour

Still snowing

I go out for wood, down the driveway to the shed

Four trips with the wheeled cart, branches cracking above me

I walk to the end of the drive, and the road is blocked with fallen trees

The wires are almost on the ground.

Limbs, still thick with leaves are lying on the wires

I get the wood into the house

and it’s dark.

I heat water on the stove and make tea

I cook four eggs, one for me and one for each dog, and add cheese

The wood stove cooks very hot

We eat our eggs, listening

The branches are popping and crashing

I add more wood to the fire

The dogs are drowsy and warm

I wake up and the fire is almost out

I build it up again

It has stopped snowing

I listen to the silence

The trees have stopped cracking

I read some poetry, I can almost hear it speaking aloud in my head

Marley barks at something

I call the power company again

A recording

No snowplow

It’s very warm and cozy, Sunny snores

More wood on the fire

My computer battery is almost gone

The news says the turnpike is blocked

Route 309 is blocked

We are urged not to drive

OK

I have ten feet of driving space

I won’t drive

I will drink tea

I will keep the fire burning