The power company said the power should be restored in 2 days. 2 days without power! With fewer than 7 days until Christmas, the power went out on a cold Friday evening, when it was 20 degrees outside. The power didn’t come back on until Sunday around lunchtime. Power outages are not uncommon in the winter when you live in the woods. Meanwhile it got down to 10 degrees overnight each night here in the frozen Northeast. The power outage added to the sense of chaos and disorganization that was already spiraling towards the Christmas and New Years holidays. Strangely, being holed up in a large, dark, room, and afraid to open any doors or windows for fear of letting out the heat (again, it got down to 10 degrees overnight outside) all contributed to a lowered state of stress, for some reason, although I bet it’s short-lived.
Anyway, we survived the power outage, thanks to the generator and a sense of adventure — but mostly, thank goodness for our wood-burning stove. Very importantly, the ponies all had plenty of (unfrozen) drinking water that was pretty clean. So did the goats, of course. All classes of citizens. The cats actually seemed to enjoy the few days of cramped living. Would you believe the older kitten (a grey and white boy, 1.5 years old) caught his first mouse* in the house during this power outage? A mysterious growling kept me awake half the night, which was curious and strange to someone who was half asleep. I made sure my little dog was asleep at my side, so I knew he wasn’t the growler, and then I promptly returned to sleep. More growling woke me. Finally I grabbed the flashlight and shone it in the direction of the growling, afraid to find a raccoon or possum in the hallway next to the kitchen, but instead, found our young cat with wild eyes, growling, and holding a mouse in his mouth.
Though this farm is in the Northeast of the US, I personally grew up in Southern California and Northern California, where I never saw such a thing as a wood-burning stove. Thankfully because I had been deprived of such pleasures as (and the work of) wood-burning stoves when I growing up, I now enjoy the multiple-times-a-day ritual of making fires in our wood-burning stove and see it as something kind of fun and rustic and romantic. You can probably guess that it’s my first wood-burning stove. The enthusiasm of a beginner comes in handy, yet again. Had I had to use such a stove to stay warm during my younger years, I would probably find this chore annoying. Same applies to the leaf-blowing, which is a big part of life (in the fall) if you live in the woods. Back to the wood-burning stove: in addition to creating a comforting cocoon of coziness when it’s 15 degrees F outside. you can also use it to cook stuff, much like a slow cooker … set it and forget it! We will soon discover the consequences of such a laissez-faire approach to using the wood-burning stove.
* that we are aware of, anyway.
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