Christmas Ice Storm Leaves Rev. in the Dark... AGAIN!!

You might be wondering why the blog hasn't been updated in a few days. Well, mother nature is one twisted sister! An ice storm that started late on Christmas Eve culminated in downed power lines once again. We lost electric service at 10:00 am on Friday, Christmas morning and didn't get it back until 7:30 pm Sunday night.

This latest winter crap-fest came on the heels of last week's 14-inch snowfall, most of which is still with us. As usual we cranked up the generator, which kept the fridge going and allowed us to catch a little TV on a small digital set with digital rabbit ears.

Paul and I -- and the three cats -- made it through unscathed, except for a severe case of cabin fever. After three housebound days, it was getting kind of tense here, mostly between the cats. Now it's time to do laundry and clean up inside and outside the house. Lots of tree limbs down all over the yard. The ducks are the only ones who don't seen to mind so much. The snow from last week has melted enough for them to get to the pond and splash around a bit in the small area that's not frozen over.

Will resume regular updates in the morning. Waiting for the water heater to do it's job so I can enjoy a much-needed shower. Sponge baths aren't as much fun when you have to give them to yourself.

Hope you all had a great Christmas, or whatever you celebrate at this time of year.

Big Snow Hits East Coast (For those of you who hadn't noticed)

Just in case you've been in a coma for the last few days, the Roanoke region, and most of the northeast, got dumped on by a major winter storm. The official snowfall here at Morning Wood Acres is 14 inches.

When the snow started on Friday afternoon, I was at work in Roanoke. The boss let me leave early, before she let everyone else go and finally closed for the weekend. I left at about 3:30 for the 29-mile trip, which usually takes 40 minutes. I got home at 7:00 pm.

It took an hour and a half just to find a passable route out of town. The major roads were blocked by stuck vehicles and I had to turn around and change my route twice before finding my way back to Rte. 221, which is the road up Bent Mountain (elevation, about 2500 ft.) that takes me home. The traffic moved slowly, but steadily at about 10-15 miles per hour until I got about 2/3 up the mountain. Traffic slowed to the point that that I started to lose forward momentum and stid into the left lane on a steep curve. Soon two other cars did the same. It was scary as hell.  Fortunately, there was no traffic coming down the mountain.

I waited for other cars to pass before backing up to a more level area and attempted to get back on my way, assisted by two other motorists who were pushing other cars through, even though their own vehicles were stranded at the side of the road. In all, I was stuck on the mountain for 45 minutes.

Once at the top, I slowly made my way along the 15 miles toward home. I'd been keeping on touch with Paul by cell phone the whole time and he met me at the bottom of the final hill that leads to our road.

The rest of the weekend was spent snugly inside by the fire, digging out the cars and looking in on the ducks, who have spent the last three days inside the coop with plenty of food and water.

On Sunday, we attempted the move my car out, only to have it stuck halfway in a ditch by the driveway. Rescue came in the form of our handy mechanic, Tim, who we had called to come plow the driveway. He hooked up the the chains to my car and pulled me out after several attempts, after which he cleared the driveway. I might add here that our driveway is essentially and earthen dam, holding the pond water in place. One false move to the left and "Splash!". A slip to the right and it's a 15 foot drop into the woods.

At this time, all is well and our little family is fine. The cats are going stir crazy, although our little white kitty, aptly named "Snowball", has been having a great time in the snow during her short trips outside. I think it's mostly due to the birds gathering around the food we put out for them.

Florida is looking better and better all the time.