All day Thursday the ice and rain fell out of the sky. The dirt road seemed impassable. Henry telecommuted. A first. By the time the blue hour arrived the radio told us that the ice storm was intensifying. Henry, always expecting the worst, filled the bathtub with water, as well as a couple of large stock pots. I brought in more firewood.
At 9:30 the power went out, shortly followed by the telephone. Fortunately, we are experienced with Heath winters and have flannel sheets.
And so Friday dawned. Lots of ice. No power. No phone. Henry helped our neighbors pump out their basement. We can’t get off our road because of a huge tree blocking the way. The gas burners on the stove work, but not the oven. Too bad. Baking keeps everybody happy.
The ice is beautiful. Thick on every branch and leaf. Sparkle. Brilliance. We almost think living in an 18th century world would not be so bad.
Do you know how dark it gets at 5 pm? Eating by candlelight is always lovely. Cooking by candlelight is more of a chore, but our dinner of frozen leftovers, with a few additions, was fine.
Reading by candlelight. Bed.
Henry and a crew got the tree out of the way this afternoon and we raced out to buy a few groceries, crampons and stopped to do this posting from Mocha Maya, Shelburne Falls’ hospitable internet cafe. More details will follow soon.