There was a quiet time last week at many homes. The ice storm and severe winds caused havoc with the electrical power. If you escaped it, good for you. Fulda along with other communities and those in the country were out for four or more days. We, Louise and I, had it easy with a gas stove, wood fireplace and LED battery lights. The temperature outside was no threat to life and most everyone weathered the storm nicely. An extra quilt made most pretty toasty. Both the Senior Center and Maple Lawn Senior Care were open to the public who wanted to warm and comfort themselves. The big thing was the sump pumps. Most had no generators but relied on bailing the water and some carried it up and outside. We did get one of the last generators in the area on Thursday after fighting the surge of water. By Friday morning more generators were available. It made life pretty nice. Ours was small but able to run things one at a time. Gas was available in Dundee and Slayton. Casey’s in Fulda had a big generator come by Saturday. Many people shared their generator power with neighbors and friends. Thursday was the most difficult day with streets clogged with snow and ice. Our deadlines and print schedules were met by packing our computers and personnel and going to our Slayton office on Friday. The rest of the time was spent with the little things like an old percolator for our coffee. Food was no problem with the grill and our gas stove. The cell phones and other electronics you could charge on your car batteries. The community hasn’t suffered drastically, mostly inconvenienced. There may well be some problems yet that will surface but right now we are all thinking how we can better be prepared for the future.
There is a big appreciation of all those who were involved in getting the power back in service. The response was immediate and massive.
The wildlife, particularly the birds, went wild over everything that was offered. They had several rough days. The squirrels and rabbits liked the offerings which are better than my tulips or shrubs.
The grass is a fresh spring green that is long overdue. It will almost be fun to mow the lawn again.
* * *
My Old Aunt Says
My idea of a diet
Is blowing the sugar
off a donut
* * *
Have a good week.
