December 14, 2007

The Icy Morning

frozen tree limb in my yard in Bella Vista AR

started 12-10-2007

We are in the midst of an Ice storm. Annabelle I snuggled together out on the porch, watching the rain freeze on the iced tree limbs. Layer upon layer, like dipping beeswax candles. I have seen no wildlife, no birds or squirrels...I wonder what the animals do in times like this. Every night as I drive home after midnight from "thisplace" I see a lovely heard of deer feeding at the turnoff from hwy 340 down towards lake Avalon, They swing their heads up to look at me, big beautiful eyes...they graze among the lighted Christmas deer on this lady's lawn, like Santa's reindeer on vacation free to do as they like prior to the big night...

Its beautiful and I know that it wont last which is a relief to me. But while it does I shall gaze upon it and be glad that I have shelter and heat.It could be worse we could be like this gal who emailed me from Oaklahoma...I work with her at "thisplace"

This is part of an email a friend of mine sent me this morning that I thought I would share because I don’t think we realize how bad it is – she lives in Tulsa (she slept in her office last night as her home is without power and the city cut the gas when the trees started falling…..) :.

I was grateful to have somewhere warm...hotels didn't have any power, gas stations are either sold out of gas if they have power or closed if they don't, no grocery stores have power...basically the entire town has no power until tomorrow at the earliest...we only have power because we are so close to St Francis...nursing homes had to dump as they had no power, so they sent all their folks to the hospitals which were running on back up generators...heck even Wal-Mart has no power...they need 2500 gallons of gas for the generator and everything here is sold out!

good thing I got those granola bars as it's about all there will be to eat today...no fast food, no grocery stores, and no convenience stores open...this is even worse than last year


I hope to be able to get home tonight if it stays above freezing...but then I still have to come into work early because we don't have water either...no elec at the treatment plant either

We have freight and trucks scattered all over the place, I will not tell a driver he or she must press on in dangerous weather. Nothing can replace a life. The freight that my account generates is plactic bottles and soda cans... A 53 foot plate van (a semi trailer that has only a framework and metal skin no wooden inside wall, that is what is used to hual these empty containers, so you can get more inside) is like a giant sail...an airplane without wings and they lift off the highway when the wind is strong enough and the tractor is moving fast enough. my average load weight is only 12000 lbs gross. Nothing really and the trailer swings behind the tractor like a pendulum at the slightest provacation, and a slippery black iced road is the worst sort.

12-14-2007

So far nothing major here, the Ozarks seem to push the worst of this sort of weather away from here. We are expecting snow tonight and a frezzing weekend. Maybe I can get some Christmas things done that I have been putting off

My Forest in its winter garb, Bella Vista AR