Ice Storm Impacts

So, I got back from the Texas hunt and started to see media reports of an incoming winter storm.  On Thursday evening at 9:00, I got a notice from the alarm system at the farm of an AC power failure.  That was a worry since I had not turned off the incoming water main (dumb).  If the power stayed off, and the pipes froze, it would be quite a mess when the power came back on to thaw the pipes.  By Friday at noon, the power was still off and the roads looked clear enough to head out there.  It was supposed to be 8F by Saturday morning so I thought that I had better get out and get the water turned off.

There was a transition from more snow to more ice as I headed east.  The downed pines are at the intersection of Union Hill Road and Rt 32.

Trees on power lines and drooping power lines as I head back toward the gate.

The gate was a challenge.  These are not the best conditions for a combo lock.  With some effort, I got in.

It was more ice and less snow out there.  But still a challenge to get down the driveway.  Driving Down Driveway   Approaching the Barn

The ice accumulation was amazing.

The power was still off and therefore the door opener didn't work.

Getting in the man-door also proved to be a challenge.  I chipped that off, got in, released the roll up door, and had to use a pry bar to get the door released and up.

What a relief when the water ran.

I stoked up the wood-burning stove, shut off the water main, and drained the lines.  Then I started looking around.

Lots of stuff iced and broken.

I scraped the driveway and went for a short ride to check a few cameras.  It was cold!

I gave up on a number of the cameras - not worth the work to excavate them from the ice.

And some of the trails were impassable.

Pear tree near the barn.

It was pretty though.

I did get the cards out of a few cameras that were up inside cedars or sheltered in some way.

While I was gone, Van replaced the Tecumseh motor on my log splitter with a new Honda.

And he even split and stacked a bunch of wood for me.

Some highlights from the cameras that I was able to access.  BTW, the power came back on at 7:30 pm.  Almost 24 hours out.