Storm Check-In Thread/Are Y'All OK?

15 years ago

Good morning, all.

Just starting a check-in thread, as we often do after major weather events, so everyone can check in and let us know how they're doing.

We're fine here in Love County. Lots of ice on the ground, but power and internet service both are working and we feel so lucky to have them.

I hope all are well. If you have internet service and are reading this, please check in here and let us know how you're doing.

Dawn

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Comments (47)

rjj1
15 years ago
The nasty stuff missed us this time. Have about 2" of sleet on the ground.

randy
ccecilm
15 years ago
Southern Custer County (Clinton):

About 1/4" of snow over 1/4" of ice. The big one missed out here but it's cold (Three, yes 3, degrees).
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Thank you, Carol and Susan for your offers of plants and seeds, but I'm going to stick with what I have this year. It just isn't going to be a very good summer for growing stuff and I figure I just might as well accept that and go on. You are wonderfully kind and I appreciate you so much! Dawn, I'm sorry to hear that your fruit is on the ground, too. I still have peaches and apples but I don't know for how long. The storms stayed south of us yesterday and we didn't even get rain, but did get more wind. NOAA has changed its forecast for my area, we may not get rain at all out of this, although the sky looks like it might rain any minute. I do feel so sad for all those who have lost so much. Makes me feel a little selfish for complaining about just losing plants and fruit. Yes I am familiar with Neodesha. They and Coffeyville were hit so hard last year. It sounds to me like the college jumped the gun on getting student housing cleaned out. The house next door to us was reposessed and some people were hired to clean it out. It was a MESS! They told me they stored the good stuff away until they had enough and then they would have an auction. So tell the kids to watch the auctions, maybe they can get some of their stuff back. I was born in Iola, KS and my dad was a truck driver for awhile. Neodesha was on his route. A few years ago I worked in an ophthalmology office in Bartlesville and we had a pediatric specialist that would come from Tulsa once a week. I would do his dictation and he would pronounce Neodesha as Neo DEE cha. The first time he did it I went "WHA.....????", then when I realized what he was trying to say I nearly rolled in the floor. Generators can be really dangerous things, especially since people tend to try to run them somewhere in the house. That's where the carbon monoxide comes in. We have one but we keep it on the back porch. The last time we had a power outage here, it lasted for about 24 hours and it was bitterly cold outside. We didn't have our generator then and we got by OK by wearing our coats and bundling up when we went to bed that night. But mostly I worried about our water pipes freezing. Now with the price of gas the way it is, it's going to be expensive to run a generator. I hope everyone stays safe, all of you please be careful and keep track of the forecasts for your area.
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Eileen, You're welcome. The coyote incident did shake me up quite a bit, but we have recurring issues with them, so it wasn't that shocking. The shocking part was how close it came to the house in the middle of the day. Normally, they mostly hunt from around sunset to sunrise, but in winter months as their food supply becomes depleted, you'll see them out in broad daylight sometimes in January or February. It was odd to have it out in daylight in Spring. The incident shook up Casper a lot more. He is really bad to roam far and wide but has been sticking much closer to home and voluntarily spending a lot more time indoors since then. We expected wildlife when we moved here, but we certainly got a lot more than I ever dreamed we'd have. Some of the wild things are fun to see---like the shy and elusive ring-tailed cats. 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We have water moccasins, but not near the house although we finally had to fill in our water garden because the water moccasins kept moving to it to stay during drought and it was just too dangerous to have them that close to our home. I miss my water lilies, but I don't miss those water moccasins. I might have felt like we could tolerate a non-venomous water snake, but not those horrible cottonmouths. Copperheads have been the big snake group we're seeing so far this year and that's pretty common here most years. They don't seem to mind living pretty close to people and really are sort of timid and don't want to get too close to people. They'd rather just leave if they see you coming, but will strike if cornered, so I try to stay away from them and to avoid doing anything that makes them feel cornered or trapped. 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maubles
15 years ago
Good morning.

We lucked out too, got a pretty good coating of ice Monday night, actual rain during the day yesterday and some sleet last night. The ground is really just dusted white, so nothing real heavy.

There is a draw/creek just to the west of the house that stays dry unless we get quite a bit of rain and I can see light reflecting off of it, so looks like we did get some good moisture.

There is a coating of ice on the trees and things, but again we have been lucky and the electricity has stayed on.
My aunt lives about 10 miles east of here and she lost her's twice Monday night/Tuesday morning.

Hope everyone else has made it through OK.

Michelle
curlersnflipflops
15 years ago
Fine here, a 1/2 inche maybe ,but slick. 40 miles west of Tulsa
maubles
15 years ago
Out of curiosity, I just checked the Mesonet site. I am between 2 stations, about 20 miles from each.

The one to the south said about 1.6" of precipitation and the one to the north said 3.4", so we got a lot more rain than I thought. We were definitely very fortunate here.
rjj1
15 years ago
I have 2 mesonet stations within 2 miles of me. The closest one at the airport is usually the one that doesn't match my gauge here. It's straight south of me.

The one to the southwest is usually pretty close on rain amounts. Bands of rain usually "train" over both of us and the one directly south will have less or more depending on where the bands cross the landscape.

Having a rain gauge does come in handy.

randy
Macmex
15 years ago
Jerreth e-mailed me this morning (very good sign) and said that they have several inches of ice on the ground and about an inch on the trees. She said that damage is nothing compared to 2007. They were without lights for some time though. I always pray for the L.R.E.C. workers when we have bad weather, and thank God for their dedication.

George
maubles
15 years ago
George, I'm glad you were able to get in touch with Jerreth and that it sounds like relatively good news.
Seems like everyone has really good luck and prompt service with the electric coops.

Randy, I agree about a rain gauge, only mine will have to wait until the temperature rises above 20*(35*?)before I make a special trip outside to check it. :o )
ilene_in_neok
15 years ago
Slick here with about a half inch of snow on top of the ice, 50 miles north of Tulsa in Washington County. DS works between here and Tulsa and he said coming home from work in the wee hours Tuesday morning was horrible on HWY 75. He knows how to drive in this but there's always that idiot who doesn't, and who goes too fast for conditions.

Jesse only goes to school mornings so he came straight home on Monday and the storm started shortly after. No school yesterday or today.

At first, the precip was so fine I didn't even know we were getting any till I went out to dump my kitchen scraps into the compost bin and slid all the way down the ramp. So glad I didn't lose my balance and fall. We've been staying in ever since, except to toss some stuff out for the birds.

It's great weather to bake! I wish I had a nice pork roast, I'd make that recipe for pulled pork (the roast has to bake in the oven for six or seven hours). Isn't it funny how things change? That just seems like a horribly long time to be running the oven now that I'm used to having a crock pot and a microwave. And Dawn, you with your convection oven could probably make it a lot faster. I've attached a link. This gal, Ree Drummond, lives out in the country somewhere around here. I don't know her personally, but I know her brother Mike through where I used to work, and her dad is a local doctor. Her blog is fun to read.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman Cooks
soonergrandmom
15 years ago
In good shape here. We have had rain, ice, sleet, then snow and everything is slick. Today it is 15 and the sun is shining. I am only allowed to take one step onto the porch to feed the cat, otherwise I am on house arrest. LOL I have plenty of bruises from my first day of acrobatics on the ice, so I am staying home.

The news said there were 2,000 customers in Arkansas without power and over 23,500 in Oklahoma, so some are not so lucky. I think shelters are open in Checotah and Muskogee. Our county is being listed each time they talk about power outages, but it must be in the southern areas of the county and I am in the far north. The pictures we are seeing of Muskogee look like it is really bad down there. They keep mentioning Muskogee and McIntosh counties.

Of course, this time we are not alone. This storm is creating havoc everywhere. Our neighbors went on a cruise and sailed out of Florida. They are now stuck in Atlanta. I'm OK but this stuff is sure messing with my plans.
jaleeisa
15 years ago
We got some of the freezing rain and sleet here Monday, then sleet just about all day Tuesday. Looks like a winter wonderland out there. But there's about 1/4-1/2 inch of ice covered by a few inches of sleet. Trees, etc, have ice jackets. It's gonna start melting here today, so we'll see later today how tomorrow's gonna be. Kids were out of school again today, not sure about tomorrow.

Cliff said the roads weren't bad yesterday. The sleet did allow a lot more traction while he was delivering his mail route. Monday was awful though. I haven't even so much as peeked outside this morning yet.

We're all fine here, no loss of electricity or anything.

Kathy
oldbusy1
15 years ago
Mostly just rain here till tuesday evening, then it turned to sleet. Not sure how much it actually is, as it has made everything white.

Got some country style pork ribs thawing. Maybe throw on a pot of beens and bake some cornbread to go with them. Fresh (greenhouse) lettuce and carrots,snap peas for a salad.Or might make some slaw with the fresh cabbage.decisions,decisions.

Yep i'm a male and do cook.
okiehobo
15 years ago
What a beautiful morning here in eastern pittsburg county.
We got about 1 and 1/2 inchs of winter mix with ice on top.
I can see some limbs down on power lines across the road, we lost power for about 4 hours last night, but it's back on now, We have a gas log in the fireplace so we stayed warm.

I went out to fill the bird feeders this morning and it is a sheet of ice out there so everyone be careful if you have to get out.
lovetotweet
15 years ago
We're good here in Pott. county (Shawnee specifically) - our family agreed to a "no television" rule about 10 years ago (though we rent movies and download some things off of iTunes), so I'm out of touch with the news... I feel even more grateful now to still have power!

I think we got about 3" of sleet - only a few folks out today. And, it was 12 degrees out when I last checked this morning. Brrrr!

I've almost finished my seed ordering, though. Mom and I went through catalogues together since the weather has kept us indoors, so you can guess how my list has grown. :-)

I have to admit that, as a grad student, the best part of this (besides the precipitation of course) is that my university has been closed, LOL!

Glad to here you all are doing well, and sending prayers to all those without power - it's too cold! Stay warm!

Ada
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Everyone,

I am glad everyone who's checked in is well, and hope those we haven't heard from are also well.

Sunny and clear here so all the ice is melting and dripping off roofs, fences, trees, power lines, etc., but it is below freezing, so we have some spectacular icicles forming.

The roads (highways) are a mess is Love County because semi drivers are flipping over, rolling, jack-knifing, etc. and there's so many of them that the few semi-truck heavy duty tow trucks are running hours behind. DS is almost home from D-FW, after leaving work at 7 a.m. but he has stopped numerous times to help stranded motorists or he'd probably be home by now.

We were relatively warm overnight here, as it only got down to about 15 degrees and is in the 20s now.

Michelle and anyone else who got lots of rain...I am SO-O-O happy for you and totally envious too. I hope we get rain like that one of these months.

Randy, I swear, I can have two rain gauges 300' apart on our property and even then they will often have a big discrepancy in rainfall, and neither one of them will come close to matching our Mesonet station, which is several miles away. Sometimes they DO match our NWS Co-operative Weather Observer Station which is a little over a mile away.

George, Glad you heard from Jerreth and that all is as well as could be expected in these conditions.

Ilene, Glad you have power. I've been really worried about your corner of the state. Thanks for posting the link to the blog. I'm going to go check it out in just a minute.

Carol, I am glad you're on house arrest. You don't need to add to your bruise collection.

I've heard it is really bad in parts of Arkansas and eastern OK. I hope HelenH, Dorothy (Mulberryknob) and our other gardenwebbers in that region are safe, warm and well.

Dawn
pattyokie
15 years ago
It's beautiful here in Broken Arrow. The sun is shining off the snow which is on top of the ice which is on top of the sleet. It was 12 degrees at 8:00 (I got to sleep in since there's no school) My little Yorkie dashed out to pee & right back in. Tues night he crunched on the frozen grass but now he's making tracks in the snow. Not much snow I think but the grandaughters have already called & want to come over & make snow ice cream.
Last winter we were without power here 5 days, so this is fine so far. Glad everyone else is ok.
Lisa_H OK
15 years ago
I'm good too...same as Jaleeisa. I've had to work both days, roads weren't great, but I got around fine. The sleet/snow coating really helped.

Lisa
annbb
15 years ago
Here east of Edmond we had maybe an inch and a half of ice, then sleet, and finally real snow! Big flakes last night. Have power and am making chicken soup. My husband went to the store last night and said the road (Rt. 66) was not plowed or salted as far as he could tell.
Annbb
OklaMoni
15 years ago
Edmond, all is white, rain, sleet and finally snow fell here.

Never lost power. Yeah!

I was out for a bit, earlier, working on getting the drive way cleared. It is a north running downhill slope, and I think it will be easier getting out if it is clear. THis is my first winter here, and I still need to get a feel for things.
Above all, I wanted that ice around my trees, for moisture when it melts. :)

Moni
soonergrandmom
15 years ago
Thanks for all of you who stated your town or county in your post. Sometimes I can't remember where everyone lives and I like to know what it is like in all parts of the state, especially when I need to travel.

I have lived in southern Oklahoma near Ardmore. I have lived east of OKC and Norman near Lake Thunderbird, and now live north of Grove. It is amazing how much different the climate and growing conditions are, so I am always interested in your conditions. You know, inquiring minds want to know!!!!!
njdjs
15 years ago
I live in Haskell County and we got hit.I had to call into work since I could'nt get out of my house the ice was so bad. We didn't loose electric and I am hoping no tree's fall to make us loose it. I've heard others have lost electric.(prayin their electric comes back on soon)Hope everyone is staying safe.
Okiedawn.How far are you from Paris Texas? I'm thinking about selling my ranch and moving. I would like to move on a lake with some property like 30 or more acres.Someone told me Paris Texas has a nice lake that I should check out.
that_owl
15 years ago
Greetings from the Holiday Inn Express in Gainesville, TX! We're stuck in this hotel until Oklahoma decides to melt. ;-) Fortunately they have a fantastic swimming pool, gorgeous hot tub, a wonderful breakfast bar and an exercise room to work it off. ;-) Plus, there's an IHOP right next door and a Chili's across the interstate.

My gardening Mom, Caroline, led me to this forum & I can see why she likes it so much! What a friendly place! She keeps talking about 'winter sowing' and can't wait to get home and get her jugs started. :-)

We arrived here Monday night from south TX, on our way to NW Oklahoma and since we want clear roads, we're going to stay here again tonight. My brother in NW OK tells me that temps are rising but roads are still very slick and hazardous there (about 1/2 inch of ice and sleet) and it seems the same is true of roads in central and southern OK.

Since we're not on anyone's schedule, we're staying put until tomorrow. All that food you people are cooking sounds GREAT! Please deliver any leftovers to Room 227 - Thanks! :-)

Stay warm and safe!

that_owl/Lela
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Lela,

Welcome to the forum. It is so nice to "meet" you. I hope you're having fun in Gainesville. I'm about 20 miles north of you in Love County, halfway between Thackerville and Marietta. I think it probably was a good decision to stay in Gainesville today because the interstate has had a lot of accidents, although perhaps not as many today as yesterday.

The ice is melting here this afternoon, so IF it evaporates off the roads before sunset, the roads will be nice and clear. However, any roads that have a heavy buildup that doesn't melt/evaporate are expected to refreeze quickly after sunset. On our street, the ice is melting and evaporating pretty well in areas with full sun but not so well in shady areas.

If you want to check road conditions tomorrow morning before you leave, I've linked the local CBS affiliate, KXII, Channel 12, below. They cover the Ardmore-Sherman-Paris-Gainesville region and usually have good road coverage when the weather is bad. The local news is on TV from 5:30 to 7:00 a.m., from 12 noon to 12:30 p.m., and from 5:00-5:30 p.m. and 6:00 to 6:30 p.m., and the website is usually updated pretty regularly.

I don't want to make you cry, but we had hot chocolate cobbler (with vanilla ice cream on top) with dinner last night during the sleet storm. I'd send some down to you if I could, but we ate it all.

I'm kind of amazed you made it through the Dallas-Fort Worth frozen highway mess this morning.

Stay safe and warm, have a safe trip home and stay in touch with us all. You're going to enjoy winter sowing.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Local Gainesville TV Station Website
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Njdjs,

I'm quite a bit further west than Paris, Texas, as I'm directly up I-35 from Gainesville, Texas. Paris is in northeastern Texas. I've driven through Paris, but haven't been near any of the lakes. There are several lakes in the general area of Paris, Texas, so I'm not sure which one you're talking about. The lakes close to or somewhat close to Paris include Lake Pat Mayse, Lake Cooper and (somewhat further away) Lake Bonham. All of them are just close enough to the Dallas-Fort Worth area that the land around them probably is greatly overpriced. (We came to Oklahoma specifically to get away from runaway land prices in north Texas.)

And, now, the ridiculous land prices have made it into our part of southern OK too. If we were buying land today, we could get an acre or two here for the same amount we spent for 14.5 acres in 1997.

So, look before you leap. : )

Dawn
okiegarden
15 years ago
Lindsay is covered and ice everywhere... we are here and ok but we really are cold and a mess down here.
that_owl
15 years ago
Hey, Dawn - We came through Ft. Worth Monday evening during rush hour. Ugh. And tonight will be our third night in this hotel. It wasn't in the plan to stay three nights, but we are grateful that we didn't have to charge into Oklahoma - and all that ice. We'll be heading on home tomorrow.

We did venture out today after things started melting & had a late lunch at Cracker Barrel. After seeing an 18 wheeler on its side in the median, we knew we made the right decision to stick around and let things further north do some melting.

What?!? You had chocolate cobbler (with ice cream?!?) And you ate it ALL? :'-(
This hotel has nothing even close to that. hehe ;-)

Thanks for the info, much appreciated!

-Lela/that_owl
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Lela,

I'm glad you got through Fort Worth all right during rush hour because sometimes it gets pretty dicey there when they have frozen precipitation. (I was born in Ft. Worth and lived from 1959-1998, but it has really grown a lot since then.)

Oh, Cracker Barrel! It's one of my favorite places to eat when we're on the road.

To be fair, there were four of us here for dinner last night, and it was really, really cold and the cobbler was really, really hot. We didn't want to eat it all, but we felt like we had to load up on carbs to keep us warm if the power went out. : )

If you have questions about road conditions in the morning, log on and I should be here. This afternoon, they finally got a lot of the wrecked 18-wheelers out of the medians and off the highway here in Love County, so it should be smooth sailing tomorrow. We had heavy southbound traffic late this afternoon around 2-3 o'clock coming down from OKC, so the roads between here and there ought to be open and running pretty good (depending on what refreezes overnight). I'm a little concerned about I-35 in the Paul's Valley area (because the 18-wheelers always have enormous trouble with the ice there), but if it is open and clear, then you should be fine all the way to OKC. Some highways in NE OK still have a lot of ice, tree limbs and such, but your I'm sure your mom will tell you about those tomorrow if they're still an issue.

Happy to help and hope the info is useful. If you haven't found it already, and you need basic supplies, there's a Wal-Mart just a couple of miles east of I-35 on Hwy 82. The sign would probably say Hwy. 82--Sherman (East) and Wichita Falls (West). Just go east a couple of miles on 82 and the Wal-Mart is on your left, with a Home Depot on your right.

Dawn
jessaka
15 years ago
We were out of electricity for two days but had a generator. When I looked outside and saw that my apricot tree was bent over with frost I thought of Dawn and how she said something about that poor apricot tree.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Jessaka,

Is the power back on or are y'all still running on the generator? I'm glad you're OK.

Your poor little apricot tree. If it survives and thrives, I expect to see a photo of the "first apricot" that ripens one of these days and then you can describe for us just how yummy and juicy it tastes. It does seem like your tree is the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" of the apricot world. What else can possibly happen to this poor, innocent little tree?

We are currently 16 degrees here with freezing fog and poor visability. I imagine that the sun will burn off the freezing fog and correct the poor visability by mid-morning or so. Most of the schools in Love and Carter Counties seem to be back in session today, although a few are starting late and some of the more rural ones in nearby counties have cancelled classes. There's still patches of ice and some icy bridges but it is nothing like it was yesterday.

I hope everyone starts to thaw out today. The sound of the drip-drip-drip of melting ice is much more pleasant than the sound of freezing rain/sleet hitting the house.

Dawn
kathi_rogers
15 years ago
Here in Grove we got about 1/2 - 1 inch of ice then over the course of a couple of hours got two inches of Beautiful snow. Never lost power but just got internet back as there was a thick cover if ice on our net dish, never lost tv though - that dish is on opposite side of house and did not get as much ice on it. My WS containers are beautifully buried and as there is no wind today I will probably start a few more containers. THANK GOD we did not have a repeat of 2007 but for you folks that got nailed in the southeast area, my prayers are with you.
southerngardenchick
15 years ago
Glad to hear most of ya'll got thru it okay!

Northeastern Arkansas got HAMMERED. My poor little town looks like a war zone. :(. We were without power for only a day, but that's because we're right next to the highway and on the same circuit as the light at the intersection. My parents and sister are still without power... they're saying it might take a month to get power to all the people out in the county. Bless their hearts!

The power does go off and on, but we're assuming it's because they're hooking someone else on and trying not to let it get to us... LOL! We spent the night under emergency blankets (mylar is not restful), and ate lots of sandwiches! Luckily the sodas stayed cold outside... :).

My house is situated under a huge pecan tree, and that was our main worry. It did shed alot of limbs during the storm, and made us think it was about to tear the roof off! BUT, luckily, no damage. And I believe the tree is still good too! We got VERY LUCKY. Still alot of people needing heat and food...

My husband saw a FEMA truck drive thru town... LOL!
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Beth,

I figured you'd gotten hammered there, and am relieved to hear that you already have your power back on. I was thinking your power might be down for quite a while and am surprised (happily) to see you back already. : )

I can see that you are in your usual good mood in spite of the weather/power disruptions.

If y'all have to deal with FEMA, I hope you have a better experience than the folks in Texas after Hurrican Ike. "FEMA" is still considered a dirty word down there. LOL

Hang in there....spring is on its way. We have lots of sunshine here today and are supposed to be a toasty 70 degrees tomorrow. I hope y'all get some of the sunshine and heat too.

Dawn
southerngardenchick
15 years ago
Thanks Dawn! We're actually doing pretty well, temp wise. Most of the ice has melted away... so we got out and drug branches and chopped 'em up.

Anyone need a rick or two of wood? LOL!

YEP, trying to smile in spite of it all! Gotta laugh to keep from cryin! It's been a very strange week... VERY STRANGE.

Here's a pic of how my lovely pecan tree and house looked after the storm!

Here is a link that might be useful:
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Oh, Beth, what a mess of tree limbs y'all have.

I've never seen a weeping pecan tree before. : )

I'm watching the news and apparently there's still at least a million people without power. That's a lot of people who are struggling right now and my heart goes out to them.

Maybe this will be the only ice storm that hits this winter, because no one wants or needs another one.

Dawn
southerngardenchick
15 years ago
LOL on the weeping pecan tree! I'm weeping too... :).

I've got TONS of pecans on the ground that didn't get a chance to fall... what would you do? Eat 'em???

Like I said on your other talk, I bet this is it for us. We normally have one good snow or ice storm and that's it.

They finally got power to the Wal Mart today, so we were able to stock up on food... (that was a MADHOUSE). We're letting alot of our friends come over here and charge their cellphones, take a hot shower, all that jazz.

FEMA??? Well... we did see that truck in town, but that's it. Alot of people are wondering what FEMA is FOR... they've really got a bad name now, don't they?

OKAY... I've bugged you enough. Next time you hear from me it'll be about what I'm planting! :)

Here's another pic, showing how the poles are leaning... still are!

Here is a link that might be useful:
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Beth,

Check the pecans and see if they're good. Heck, yes, I'd eat them if they are good! Consider that part of the ice storm being Mother Nature doing you a favor by knocking them down. I'm kind of surprised they hadn't fallen already. My native pecans usually fall in Nov. or Dec.

FEMA is an unwieldy burearacy with ridiculous rules. And I say that from the viewpoint of having watched our VFD jump through hoops to get reimbursed by FEMA for flood damage to fire trucks incurred while trying to save (a) homes and (b) the city's water well from the 2007 flood. We did get reimbursed, but it took over a year and tons of paperwork that was just ridiculous. Heaven help you if you ever need help FAST from FEMA, because it just isn't going to happen. I am sure FEMA has many talented, dedicated and caring employees but they are constrained by ridiculous regulations.

You're not bugging us....you are giving us an eyewitness account of the storm damage! Those poles are scarey. I hope they stay upright until the workers can reset them in their normal straight-up position.

Stay safe. With all the trees and power lines leaning over and stuff still coming down, I would think it is still very hazardous in your area right now. You know, more people die after the ice storms from various storm-related issues than during the ice storms.

Dawn
Macmex
15 years ago
Jerreth lost her lights (just N. of Tahlequah) at the beginning of the storm and got them back by the next morning. Then, sometime afterwards (I assume not long afterward) she lost her lights again. And they're still out. She says that she's been told it could be a couple of weeks till she has them back.

One couple from church has loaned her their RV, with it's generator, to hook up to our freezers. This is a huge Godsend, since the weather is not very good for preserving frozen goods. Jerreth has our refrigerated stuff, in sealed 5 gal buckets, floating in the pond.

The big challenge, is water. She can't run the pump, so she and the young fellow I hired to help with chores are carrying buckets of water 300-400 feet from the creek. That's a lot of work in order to water ducks, chickens, goats and sheep.

We have a great desire to help out at this Bible Institute (in Hidalgo Mexico). And late January/early February is about the only time I can get away to do it. Jerreth really wants me to go. She'd go too, if it wasn't for the animals and for her work. But this is one of the "prices" which I wish we didn't have to pay.

George
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
George,

Jerreth certainly is having a challenging week. It sounds like the power might make it back on before you get home.

What wonderful friends y'all have.....loaning Jerreth the RV with its' generator. I'm glad Jerreth is going to be able to save the frozen food. And, putting the refrigerated food in the 5-gallon buckets was a brilliant idea.

That's a long way to haul water. So, I guess the two of them are building some serious muscle tissue.....and they don't even have to drive to "the gym" to do it.

I know that you are doing terrific work at the Bible Institute and you are fortunate to have a spouse who shares your faith and supports your efforts. It can't be fun to be the one who is "home alone" at this time of year with the risk of ice storms, and I admire her so much for being willing to do it. You said that this is one of the "prices" which you wish y'all didn't have to pay, and I understand that, but we don't really get to choose the price we pay or the challenges we face. I know that Jerreth will come through this challenging period just fine and I suspect she won't even "rub it in" too much that you were off in sunny Mexico doing the work of the Lord while she was here dealing with the mixed blessing of having frozen moisture fall.

Look at it this way: The good news, George, is that while you are away in Mexico, all your trees got watered. The bad news is that they got iced too.

I hope the rest of your trip is successful and productive and the conditions at "the home place" improve soon.

Dawn
OklaMoni
15 years ago
During the 2007 ice storm Fema caused Tulsa to hire inspectors that stood around watching the limb and tree debris being loaded. Then other inspectors stood around watching the HUGE trucks being unloaded at the collection site along riverside drive.

More inspectors where present to see the chipping of the debris, and to see the hauling off.

It cost Tulsa quite a bit of money for all those "inspectors", to get any return from fema.

It was a disgrace.

Moni
Macmex
15 years ago
Jerreth got her lights back this afternoon!

No, she won't rub it in, that I'm down here in sunny Mexico. She knows that I'd seriously reconsider these trips if I thought she had any problems with it. She's been wonderful with her praise for how I left things so well prepared (sure knows how to stroke a guy's ego!).

When one has animals, especially dairy goats, someone just has to stay at home, all the time. Otherwise I'd try to gather the funds to bring Jerreth too. There are SO MANY visits to do while I'm here and so little time to do it. Jerreth would have a blast visiting while I taught.

Oh well, I AM looking forward to seeing her real soon!

George
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
George,

Glad to hear Jerreth has electricity back.

It is so true--once you have a lot of animals, someone has to be home literally every day.

Moni,

I agree. FEMA is a disgrace. If you need help fast and you need help delivered in the most efficient manner, don't count on FEMA.

Dawn
southerngardenchick
15 years ago
OH, I'm so glad Jerreth has electricity now! They told my parents two weeks and it was quicker too.

Gotta thank those guys working the lines... :).

I agree about FEMA. Luckily people in this area are used to taking care of their neighbors and themselves. Everyone in the town proper has electricity now... just got to get it out to the counties. My oldest is STILL off of school... they're waiting for more people to have electricity before starting up again. I hope it happens soon... a fifteen year old can get very annoying when he's bored... LOL! I've even had him working and he's still bored!

Have a good week everyone!

Beth
mulberryknob
15 years ago
We were without power from Jan 27 til Feb 4. We lost a dozen very old and fairly large trees and many more limbs. Had one small limb puncture the trailere roof and the ceilng in the living room. Would have had more except that I had a tree surgeon take off all the big limbs that overhung trailer and pumphouse last Oct. Still a massive mess. It took 3 1/2 hours just to clear our block long driveway. It will take months to cut up all the downed limbs as DH only has one day a week to do it.

The saddest thing? we lost a 26 year old pie cherry tree. It had four main limbs and each one of them split and hit the ground. Not salvageable. Sob.

But we fared ok. With wood heat and gas cooking in the house and a frig on the porch that I used as an icebox we made it ok and son-in-law brought a small generator to keep the freezers frozen in the shed and to run the pump just long enough in the eve to take showers. We also never lost our rural water at a spigot in the garden so were able to provide drinking water to some neighbors. But we got bored and news hungry until we were given batteries to run the radio. Son-in-law again who made it to us from Tulsa on Friday. There are still people w/o power here in Adair Co.
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
Dorothy,

I hate to hear about the trees and the roof/ceiling. Were the trees close enough to the house to shade it in summer? If so, I know you're really gonna miss that shade.

I hate to hear that about the cherry tree. Is there enough trunk left above ground that you might get resprouting from the trunk? Well, it would be nice it that did happen, wouldn't it?

I'm glad y'all fared OK. Thank goodness for the wood and gas.....and your son-in-law sounds like a good fellow.

Don't worry....almost all the news this month has been bad, sad and depressing, so you probably were better off without it. LOL

I really feel for the people who are without power still and I hope they get it back soon. I remember that after a big storm (might have been an ice storm or maybe a thunderstorm) a few years ago in NW OK, there were some people in very remote locations who went 6 weeks without power. I could handle a week or two without power, but six weeks? I think I'd get cranky.

Dawn
Macmex
15 years ago
Dorothy, glad to hear you folks are okay. I do hope your cherry tree re-sprouts. I know the feeling about having limited time to clean up. In 2007 it was months before we got our place back in order. There wasn't as much to come down this time, and I worked hard all summer and fall, trimming. Jerreth tells me that only a few limbs came down this time. I didn't have any large fruit trees to worry about.

When we first arrived in Tahlequah, in 2005, we planted a Rhode Island Greening apple tree (semi-dwarf). That's kind of a way to honor my family's New England roots. It finally got big enough to prune, this year... and the goats escaped into the yard. Well, ... it needed pruning, doesn't now!

George
just 1 1/2 days left in Mexico.
Chomping at the bit to get home!
Okiedawn OK Zone 7
Original Author
15 years ago
George,

Those goats! (laughing)

I love goats but it is hard, as a gardener, to co-exist with them.

Have a safe trip home.

Dawn
mulberryknob
15 years ago
Yes the trees were our shade trees, but they are still standing and still have most of their branches. There are at least a dozen trees around further from the house that will have to come completly down though.

We are going to plant some more cherry trees--semi-dwarf this time as that one was so tall that we could only pick the bottom half of it while the blue jays sat in the top and squawked at us.

Storm Check-In Thread/Are Y'All OK?

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