Weather Watch

A sunny day on Thursday and Jim decided to tackle another of the damaged trees in the area where a former owner's house [mysteriously] burned. This one, a maple, is the 4th to come down.

The tallest tree in the group is the hickory that is perfectly framed in my bedroom window when my head is on my pillow. 

A smaller beech growing to the left of the hickory was damaged in early summer winds; that one was harvested several weeks ago. 

Shelby-cat and I walked down in the chilly dusk of early evening to have a look at the remains of the maple. Rot had moved a fair way up the trunk.

A fire-damaged hybrid magnolia stands nearby. A portion of it had to be cut away last spring, and I noticed tonight how frail the remainder is looking.

It was 40 F and sunny at mid day. By late afternoon clouds moved in. 

We have a thermometer that registers outdoor and indoor temps. By the time I bundled up and decided to walk up the lane to the mailbox and back around the meadow path it was near freezing. It is now [8 pm. EST] 23 degrees--the temperature fell a degree about every 10 minutes after dark.

The three outdoor/barn cats have been offered extra food.

Jim has made beds for them in several places.

A 'condo' of large rubbermaid bins lined with polar fleece blankets and covered over with heavy rugs is against the inside wall of the front porch. Elderly Sally-cat tucks herself into the lower bin. Willis prefers the lined bin in the unheated greenhouse. A sort of igloo cozied with an old down vest is in the woodshed.

An old wicker settee stands on the covered back porch with various rugs and blankets. Shelby-cat often sleeps there in the daytime, but it is exposed to the cold and wind at night. We're not sure where she beds down as she is not very friendly with the two older cats.

I baked four loaves of bread yesterday, today's focus was a kettle of lentil soup, a pan of brownies and two foil-wrapped baked potatoes.

If our area is impacted with the ice that is forecast we are likely to lose electrical power. With our woodstove we will be warm; although it isn't a kitchen range the flat top can accommodate a skillet, saucepan and kettle.

The baked potatoes can be sliced and fried with onions, the soup reheated. Both pantry and the back basement shelves are stocked with a variety of home-canned and purchased vegetables and fruit. Soup, crackers, cheese, apples, frozen beef strips that Jim likes--we could eat well for many days.

During our Vermont years 'ice storms' so called, often took down power lines leaving us without electricity for several days. That meant well pumps were off and no water coming to the taps. Winter storm warnings sent us filling buckets, pitchers, even the bathtub with water to handle toilet flushing and water for cooking. We're on county water here and it miraculously flows in without electricity. Propane cookstoves were more common there than here in Kentucky where most of us have electric ranges.

Our family are country dwellers and feel blessed to have the skills and experience to deal with snow, ice and cold weather. We have deep pantries, warm boots and winter clothing. 

If the power is off for more than a few hours we have generators to keep the essentials going----refrigerators, freezers, a few lights. 

Severe weather here means the internet will go down--what a deprivation!

I have books, some hand sewing. Jim would miss the endless documentaries he watches when not actually outside working or in his shop.

Church is cancelled. I hope common sense would advise that slithering about on our roads that wind  along the ridges and plunge down into the 'hollers' is not an option.

If frigid weather should prevail for a week I might begin to experience 'cabin fever'

but I'm willing to spend the next few cold days inside, tucked up with a book, the cats and a mug of tea.

I leave you with the photos of my near dusk walk-about.