Digging Out
The neighborhood gathers to dig free of the snow. (Bigger.) Snow blowers aren't really as helpful as you might think when you have over twenty inches of heavy snow on the ground! Folks gathered to help clear the walks and driveways of those who had gotten a late start, or of course for people who were unable to do any clearing.
One of the neighbors across the street is about our age, and none of us had seen snow like this since we were kids. That said, we all wondered where the kids who used to shovel walks & driveways were. Playing video games inside, I suppose.
He told us he'd called the electric company about the electricity; they told him not to expect the return of power until the twelfth (Friday!). Eeek! Fortunately, not long after that a truck from the electric company drove by and of course stopped to talk with everyone (we were all out, believe me). He laughed and said power would be up within half an hour or so; a transformer had blown the night before (Zach saw it happen while walking home). Clearly, that wasn't the last to give in!
Sure enough, the power returned a while later. One neighbor's wife came running outside, cheering, "The power is back! The power is back!" Relief! We were concerned about getting our heat back more than anything else. (I had earlier joked to Dad on the phone that if it got too bad, we could bury our food in the snow between our home and our neighbors'.) We are still not sure how long the power had been off, but it was at least eight or so hours.
Of course, since I am from Michigan, everyone seems to think this is "my kind of weather", and that Michigan is *always* covered in a foot or more of snow, even in summer.
Trust me, neither of these assumptions is true. However, I mostly try to be nice about it.
Though the snow is quite fun to play in, and it is exciting to see such a great deal of it. I'll give them that much...
Digging Out
The neighborhood gathers to dig free of the snow. (Bigger.) Snow blowers aren't really as helpful as you might think when you have over twenty inches of heavy snow on the ground! Folks gathered to help clear the walks and driveways of those who had gotten a late start, or of course for people who were unable to do any clearing.
One of the neighbors across the street is about our age, and none of us had seen snow like this since we were kids. That said, we all wondered where the kids who used to shovel walks & driveways were. Playing video games inside, I suppose.
He told us he'd called the electric company about the electricity; they told him not to expect the return of power until the twelfth (Friday!). Eeek! Fortunately, not long after that a truck from the electric company drove by and of course stopped to talk with everyone (we were all out, believe me). He laughed and said power would be up within half an hour or so; a transformer had blown the night before (Zach saw it happen while walking home). Clearly, that wasn't the last to give in!
Sure enough, the power returned a while later. One neighbor's wife came running outside, cheering, "The power is back! The power is back!" Relief! We were concerned about getting our heat back more than anything else. (I had earlier joked to Dad on the phone that if it got too bad, we could bury our food in the snow between our home and our neighbors'.) We are still not sure how long the power had been off, but it was at least eight or so hours.
Of course, since I am from Michigan, everyone seems to think this is "my kind of weather", and that Michigan is *always* covered in a foot or more of snow, even in summer.
Trust me, neither of these assumptions is true. However, I mostly try to be nice about it.
Though the snow is quite fun to play in, and it is exciting to see such a great deal of it. I'll give them that much...