What a difference a day makes

Staying warm

First Tracks

Rooted in

We went from fog and the 40's yesterday to wind gusts of 50 mph and the 20's today. Overnight a heavy rain with thunder changed to snow and we had about 2" on the ground this morning. At Cedar Run the creek levels rose quickly to nearly 8' from a 2' level yesterday. The levels are heading back down with the snow instead of rain.

I took a mile walk today as the sun peaked in an out and I didn't want to miss it having not seen the sun for days. I don't care for wind in my face so my picture looks like it is sub-zero. A couple Chickadees were all that braved the weather besides me. As I walked up the hill a mile several little snow devils popped up here and there to remind me of the wind's ability to swirl in marvelous ways. 

Doesn't look like we are in for much of an improvement in temperature for a while, but the snow did cover the ice up and I would imagine there will be a few people snowmobiling on the upper parts of the mountain. The snow came just in time to keep the south side of the hill facing our house from being uncovered as it had lost the majority of its snow yesterday.

Speck, the Chihuahua, is basically hiding out from the change of weather and Leo isn't all that crazy about it either. Seems most of the animals agree with them and are bedded down somewhere until the wind stops. Have a great Leetonia day and stay warm. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

High wind creates firewood

For two days we had high winds and rain that made Pine Creek rise up above 5 foot for the first time this year. Yesterday morning around 9 am our power went out and wasn't restored until around 11 am today. This really causes no problem for us since I have a generator I use to keep the refrigeration going and pump water. Our heat comes from firewood..no electric required. It is times like these I am glad we heat with wood.

The electric company was busy yesterday and around 10 pm their truck pulled up in our driveway. I went out to talk with the guys and they looked like they had been through the wringer. They had driven their big truck up Leetonia Road and it was above freezing. Since the road is not plowed they spent two and a half hours wondering if they would ever get out of the forest. Anytime you drive on a snowmobile packed road and the temperatures go above freezing you drop through the snow. The snow can be as much as a foot and a half deep in places and it tends to pull you to the ditch or worse over the edge. After all they had been through, I couldn't believe, the tired battered electric workers were apologetic about not getting my power on. I just thought, man you risked your life, don't worry about it. They promised to come back in the morning and showed up with a tracked vehicle, quickly finding the tree doing the damage. These guys should be commended on the lengths they go to just so I can turn on my lights. I am not sure I would go to that much work and peril for one house in the middle of nowhere. In fact, after first hand experience going over the edge...you couldn't pay me enough to do it.

The same thing that destroyed my power has now added to my firewood supply as you can see from above. So there is always a blessing to us wood burners with every storm. Just make sure you have your chain saw with you when you drive somewhere after the wind blows. There are still some icy spots on the road, but for the most part you can get in and out when the weather is below freezing if you stay in the middle of the road or be safe and stay on the plowed part. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.