Hello everyone. Haven't read most of this thread, but it sounds like you all had it rough. Our county was the hardest hit in the state by two and then a third ice storm - trees down everywhere! Our power was out for 8 days with night temps in the low teens, no water, nothing. The first few days, our roads were blocked and we couldn't get out. We did get some National Guard troops in with some Forestry guys to start cutting the trees out of the way for the power company workers. They brought almost 3000 out of state power co workers to mostly eastern KY and West Virginia to repair lines - several of which were hanging across the road in our neighborhood about 6 ft from the ground. Every hotel and motel room in the tri-state area was booked - a lot of them by the electric co people.
We bundled up in one room with our two cats and tons of blankets, burning candles for the "feeling" of warmth - wearing two and three layers of clothing and rubbing our fingers and toes occasionally to get the feeling back. Water came back on day four - luckily, we have always stockpiled old 2 liter pop and water bottles filled with tap water for any kind of emergency need. They came in handy for us to flush the toilet (this became very important after awhile). We had plenty of food and drinking water stocked, so that wasn't a problem, the problem was that it was all very cold and was dreadful to eat after a time. The cats stayed on our laps and I noticed our older cat was starting to get lethargic and I worried about her. Our neighbor kept telling us she was calling all over the place and could not find a hotel room available to escape to - I was determined to stay with my pets. I could not leave them alone in a freezing house - even though some people hinted I was crazy for it.
The sixth day we were going out to drive around with the heat on, charge our phones and get hot food. I asked my husband to stop at the motel closest to our house to see if anything was going to open up (it was going to be 4 more days without power according the the power co) - my thinking was that we would smuggle the cats in the room in the luggage or something. I went inside and asked if they had a room - she said they just have one room left, a single king size bed - they had been saving the room for a walk-in and had told callers they were booked up... it was available for the next five days... I almost cried.
I paid for the room and as I was signing the paper, I saw where a place to be checked asked if there were any pets. They said they were a pet friendly hotel and I paid for our two cats and then I actually cried then! We were going to get to take a hot shower and sleep in a warm bed with internet and tv and a mini-fridge and microwave - and our two babies were going to be with us!!! I still think it was a miracle.
Two days later, I got a notice that our power was back on, earlier than we were told. Thank you God.
I am praying for everyone affected by this - it was terrible. Two elderly women died in our county. Both my husband and I have health conditions that were exacerbated by this. A lot of people and animals suffered and/or died. Don't even get me started on how our illegitimate Democrat Governor and our illegitimate Federal gov't has handled this. It was an atrocity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Life's too short to butt heads with Buttheads."
Oh, Alice. What a horrible week! I'm so glad you're back to normal (whatever that is nowdays).
We didn't lose any of the baby goats, but I did have the littlest one (Tiny) inside by the woodstove in a galvanized bucket wrapped in towels for a long, warm nap. I noticed he was shivering and couldn't stop so we brought him in. He seemed fine after that. Just got too cold and couldn't warm up. Somehow the chickens and goats all survived, though they all refused to set foot in the snow and were very unhappy.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
Wow, @Alicewonders I had no idea that Kentucky was getting those ice storms...
I guess that being without power and Internet for a lot of the time (plus the hyper focus on what was happening in our immediate space), led us to not really know what was going on in the rest of the world...
I am glad that you were able to snag to hotel room for the last couple of days, it certainly was a blessing!!
Hope that you don't have too many "pieces to pick up and put back together" at home after all of that....
“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent people.” ― George Orwell
Glad to hear about your animals @Sanguine. Talked to the nurse at my doctor's office today and she lives out in the county - just got their power and water back on yesterday. They have farm animals and she said they were having to drag buckets of water from their creek to water the horse and other animals.
It sure makes you appreciate our normal lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Life's too short to butt heads with Buttheads."
Quote: Sanguine wrote in post #124Oh, Alice. What a horrible week! I'm so glad you're back to normal (whatever that is nowdays).
We didn't lose any of the baby goats, but I did have the littlest one (Tiny) inside by the woodstove in a galvanized bucket wrapped in towels for a long, warm nap. I noticed he was shivering and couldn't stop so we brought him in. He seemed fine after that. Just got too cold and couldn't warm up. Somehow the chickens and goats all survived, though they all refused to set foot in the snow and were very unhappy.
Just got to the farm for the first time in a week. Thankfully my newborn calf survived.
I opened up our tractor shed for the cattle and apparently they were able to stay warm in there through it al.
I do have quite a few presents left there for me to shovel out, though.
Lots and lots of downed trees, one over the road I had to chainsaw away.
"If the Union is dissolved, I shall return to my native State, and share the miseries of the people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none" Robert E. Lee, February 1861 following hearing of Texas secession.
This was hard on the newly born ones. But, I've seen at least one dead horse and one dead cow while driving around. Tough weather.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
I have not seen a single axis deer since the storm. I know some survived in the area but many died. I loved watching the herd. Our whitetail fared well and some blackbuck antelope did survive.
Quote: austingirl wrote in post #129I have not seen a single axis deer since the storm. I know some survived in the area but many died. I loved watching the herd. Our whitetail fared well and some blackbuck antelope did survive.
You seem to have an inordinate amount of non-native animals around you.
"If the Union is dissolved, I shall return to my native State, and share the miseries of the people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none" Robert E. Lee, February 1861 following hearing of Texas secession.
And this puts the lie to these fact checker claims:
Fact check: Renewable energy is not to blame for the Texas energy crisis No, frozen wind turbines aren’t the main culprit for Texas’ power outages No, Wind Farms Aren’t the Main Cause of the Texas Blackouts
The truth… Renewable energy is why Texas has less natural gas and coal capacity than it would have had otherwise. Frozen wind turbines are why coal-fired power plants were operating at >90% of capacity from February 9-14 and natural gas power plants were operating at 70% to more than 80% of capacity from February 11-14. Wind farms aren’t the main cause of the Texas blackouts because most of them had already been knocked offline by freezing temperatures and ice… Nearly a week before the blackouts! https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/02/25/w...zed-energy-lie/
"If the Union is dissolved, I shall return to my native State, and share the miseries of the people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none" Robert E. Lee, February 1861 following hearing of Texas secession.
Quote: austingirl wrote in post #129I have not seen a single axis deer since the storm. I know some survived in the area but many died. I loved watching the herd. Our whitetail fared well and some blackbuck antelope did survive.
You seem to have an inordinate amount of non-native animals around you.
We are surrounded by game ranches. Some escape and naturalize. They do compete with whitetail but not to their detriment that I have seen. I just enjoy watching them. I think the entire herd died. They were beautiful. The blackbuck have been thinned for sure.
Quote: austingirl wrote in post #129I have not seen a single axis deer since the storm. I know some survived in the area but many died. I loved watching the herd. Our whitetail fared well and some blackbuck antelope did survive.
You seem to have an inordinate amount of non-native animals around you.
We are surrounded by game ranches. Some escape and naturalize. They do compete with whitetail but not to their detriment that I have seen. I just enjoy watching them. I think the entire herd died. They were beautiful. The blackbuck have been thinned for sure.
I figured you were close to some exotic hunting areas.
And they will escape.
Jurassic Park
"If the Union is dissolved, I shall return to my native State, and share the miseries of the people, and save in defense will draw my sword on none" Robert E. Lee, February 1861 following hearing of Texas secession.
WATCH NOW: 10 unbelievable numbers from Waco's winter storm
Waco-based Brazos Electric Power Cooperative is assuring the public it is not quitting business after filing Monday for bankruptcy protection in response to a $2.1 billion bill for its power generation during the recent freeze.
Brazos Electric, the state’s oldest power cooperative, provides electricity to smaller co-ops serving more than 1.5 million Texans concentrated in North and Central Texas and extending west to the Lubbock area.
In a bankruptcy filing, the nonprofit co-op said it enjoyed a stellar credit rating and more than $1 billion in revenues each of the past three years. But “excessively high” invoices from the Energy Reliability Council of Texas, the embattled statewide grid operator, prompted Monday’s filing in a Houston bankruptcy court.
Brazos Electric is a 4,000-megawatt generation-and-transmission co-op with about 200 employees in Waco and more than 370 total including staffers at power plants and field offices. It spent nearly $30 million to place a new headquarters at Bagby Avenue and Alliance Parkway in 2013, receiving a tax abatement from the city valued at about $1.2 million. It relocated from its longtime site on LaSalle Avenue that had become cramped.-- excerpt, rest at link above --
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
Unfrozen Cave Water Cooler
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The Unfrozen Cave
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Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:49 pm (Last edited: Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:52 pm)
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