Oh my, that wasn’t fun!

If you have television you’ve probably read about the devastating ice storm we had here in Cumberland County, Tennessee.  A fellow beekeeper and Director of our Emergency Operations in the county said “It’s like an F2 tornado swept through the entire county”.  He’s right!  That’s about the best description I can think of.  The holler was a sparkly winter wonderland for several days…….

This was the view from the back porch, looking at the chicken village.  Some of the icicles were almost 3 feet long!  I took a stick and knocked them all off the roof once I figured out how heavy all that was on the roof!

This is a shot of the other side of the house…..

Even the tractor was decked out in shimmering coldness!

My boyfriend brought over a generator so I could run my refrigerator and freezer occasionally to keep everything frozen.  It worked and I didn’t lose any food–I kept telling him I could just take the food outside to keep it frozen, but he insisted that I use the generator, so I did.

This bent over tree is a Tilia cordifolia, also called Basswood, or Linden Tree, or Lime Tree.  I’ve been babying this tree because it produces globs, and I mean globs, of sweet smelling, dripping-with-nectar blooms that honey bees adore!  See the bird feeder on the ground?  Usually that hangs about 6 feet above the ground.  I just knew the tree was a goner…..but once the ice melted it returned to its somewhat stooped over normal position, but it’s still there!

The grass became visible yesterday then I awoke to almost 4 inches of fresh snow this morning……bummer!

Six days without electricity was a bit much.  I heated with the wood stove, but without the ceiling fans to circulate the warm air, the upstairs became the place to hang out, for sure.  That is where all my hobby “stuff” is so I made some jewelry and worked on a journal during the really quiet days without music.    My dad happened to pass away during this time as well, and although he was ready to go, and missed my mother terribly, it was still tough to let him go.

Now the power is back on, clothes are in the washer, I’m jammin’, and being in hot water never felt so good 🙂