Monday, August 17, 2020

Monday Message - After the storm


"Today, I emphasize a most basic principle: home production and storage. Have you ever paused to realize what would happen to your community or nation if transportation were paralyzed or if we had a war or depression? How would you and your neighbors obtain food? How long would the corner grocery store—or supermarket—sustain the needs of the community?" (President Ezra Taft Benson)


Well I am writing this seven days after the Derecho hit us. Still no power and to be hot again today...


“A derecho (pronounced similar to "deh-REY-cho" in English) is a widespread, long-lived wind storm. Derechos are associated with bands of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms variously known as bow echoes, squall lines, or quasi-linear convective systems.”


This shows more...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Z83cn9sck - this is what it was like, makes me just cry to watch this as I know what it left behind.


That morning was like any others. I went out to pick the garden and I thought it was to thunderstorm later, which lately they’ve said would happen and then didn't, so I thought I won't water the garden just in case… I went in and was doing regular morning chores when the weather alarm went off saying we were under a severe thunderstorm watch but I didn't give it any thought. Alexa went off saying it was now a severe thunderstorm warning so I went and looked out the window in our front door and saw that it was black in the southwest. Just then the town sirens went off. I thought why? It wasn't even raining. I called my husband in from the garage and he turned on the TV to get radar info and the meteorologist was on saying that if you have a cell phone to charge them now!! I never heard them say that before so we plugged in the phone and it hit just that fast, then the power went off and we still do not have it. They are guessing it’ll be back by the end of day Tuesday but we shall see.



This is what we first saw when the storm left. This is the sidewalk at the foot of the porch. I had to climb over these for days. The branches are from the top of our old cedar tree in front of the house.



This is how wonderful the garden was before the storm...



This is the garden after the storm. The fence is so flattened we could walk on it like a carpet as we dragged off branches. 



A nice man saw me dragging branches and pulled over and got out and dragged heavy branches for about ten minutes, kept calling me ma'am :) That was so nice of him to help.


We had to cut with the chainsaw to get the rest off, this was an awful lot of aftermath.


This is what the garden looks like today...



After twenty-four hours we could clearly see the power was not coming back on and there were no generators to be had. Thankfully my husband thought to call a pawn shop and they had one, what a blessing!



Note the sidewalk is cleared, you can see the extension cords - one to us, one to our neighbors, they have since borrowed a generator from his work, we were happy to have helped.


While it is such a blessing to have the generator, it is costing $35.00 a day in gas to keep it going.



This is our car buried in the front by a tree, what you cannot see is there is a composter in there in a part without heavy branch and the rider lawn mower same thing. Thankfully all three survived.












This will be pics of our yard and neighbors’ yard. The wall of branches in the last pic is branches that we and crew from the church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - thank you all!) dragged to the sidewalk, this wall is almost eight feet tall.



These following pics are from the park one block away, plus the area around it.








Things I learned...


Keep a phone charger in your car, that helped. There is about nothing you can do when it is hot but keep going. We were blessed because long years ago we wired for a generator which runs freezers and the refrigerator and on the circuit of the refrigerator was the microwave, toaster oven and I moved the toaster onto it as well. The generator powers the computers, the TV, and two fans in the living room on the first floor. It ran the sump pump and was able to run the freezer and refrigerator for the neighbors’ house next door (the house with busted garage door), we share a driveway.


It would power the stove top but not the oven as this is a gas stove. It would not do air conditioning of course, sadness...I miss it.


We learned that when our power mast gets bent in a storm the electrician has to replace it but it can only be reconnected by someone from our power company. We learned that people are not always good...some electrician bought all the parts out so they could corner the market making it so that electricians had to go far to get the items needed. Our electrician had to get our parts an hour and a half away. This is causing delays for people, sadness. I hope they get found out.


We learned our government is not there when the need is so one needs to be prepared.


We should have more quick fix cooler meals ready and when it is this hot you cannot count on the freezer to stay frozen, luckily we got the generator in time.


We learned dragging branches is very very heavy work! I will tell you that with fibromyalgia extreme pain is constant but I had to keep going and each day I started with an energy deficit more and more each day.


I learned that if I took my flashlights and stuck them in a toilet paper roll (a full roll) and pointed them to the ceiling I could use two of these to see with while showering.


We learned to be even more thankful than ever for friends who brought meals. Thank you!


We learned that our pharmacy closes when there’s no power.


We learned dark means very dark.


We learned walnut trees have an awful lot of walnuts.


We learned the neck coolers our daughter made us long ago were life savers.


We learned to have even more empathy for people in disaster areas, we always had lots but now way more.


I learned that the more tired I got the more my eyes leaked (aka cried).


We learned this was like a hurricane on land and went mostly across this state and caused so much crop loss, took out power for hundreds of thousands, and hasn't made a headline in world news. We learned that the vice president came to Iowa right after, not to tour the damage but to stump...that made me sad. So many are hurting and as an afterthought he said we will help all we can and that was it. I remember the floods of 93 a president came then.


We had to still be safe during the pandemic while dealing with everything else at the same time.


We learned catastrophes don't line up with cooler weather.


The video I put a link to at the top was the sounds of that storm, it was massive and destructive, not like a tornado that maybe stays on the ground for five miles, nothing like it. People for the most part are good and decent and here in Iowa they help each other through the hardest of times and this one was the hardest in my lifetime. To all the people dealing with this, we will get through it.


Hopefully this helps you get better prepared for a hard time.




43 comments:

  1. I am so sad for those who have lost so much. We have been praying for your area.
    Thank you for posting what you learned as that is very helpful. We are going through such difficult times right now, not only in our country, but worldwide.

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    1. Still without power it is very hard but would have been harder without the generator

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  2. DIOS MIO HERMANA BECKY, CUANTO DESASTRE, PARECE UNA PELICULA, PERO LO MAS IMPORTANTE ES QUE TU Y TU FAMILIA ESTAN A SALVO, QUE NO HAN SUFRIDO HERIDAS O ALGO PEOR....... LAS COSAS MATERIALES CON EL TIEMPO SE VAN RECUPERANDO, PERO LA VIDA NO, DAMOS GRACIAS AL BUEN DIOS, PORQUE USTEDES SIGUEN VIVOS Y ESTAS CLASES DE TORMENTAS, DEJAN VICTIMAS FATALES. A MI EL VIENTO ME DA MUCHO MIEDO, AQUI NO TENEMOS TORMENTAS MUY SEVERAS, ALGUNAS SON DEL VERANO, CUANDO HACE MUCHO CALOR Y HAY MUCHA HUMEDAD, ESA COMBINACION ES MUY PELIGROSA Y PUEDE HABER ALGUNA TORMENTA CON VIENTOS FUERTES, A VECES CAEN RAMAS DE LOS ARBOLES, OTRAS VECES SE HAN CAIDO POSTES ELECTRICOS, PERO SIEMPRE DIOS NOS HA GUARDADO. ESTARE ORANDO POR TODOS USTEDES, QUE BUENO QUE LOS HERMANOS DE LA IGLESIA LOS HAN AYUDADO, ES EN ESTOS MOMENTOS CUANDO EL PUEBLO DE DIOS TIENE QUE ACTUAR Y SOCORRER A LOS HERMANOS. BENDICIONES.

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    1. Thank you I am waiting for power I would like that to happen soon

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    2. Haven't heard from you hope all is well??

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  3. Sending you much love, and encouragement, Becky.
    Patricia/Fl

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  4. So sorry to hear of the terrible storm, but glad your family is safe. I'll bet Gus and Missy were afraid, poor things. On a positive note, your stained glass window is lovely. Praying for all those affected.
    Blessings, Laura

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    1. Thank you my husband is the stained glass guy if we ever get power back he is working on a nice piece for the front door

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  5. I had seen the news and my heart is hurting for you all because way back I am an Iowa girl. I am so sorry for all the devastation on your property and surrounding area. Praying for you all and especially that you can get the power on soon.

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    1. The storm hit eight days ago most of the town back with power except for us 200 lucky ones

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  6. This is Mary (Frank's wife)--I was aware of the storm but did notice there was no coverage on any of the news channels--we are in a sad state of affairs when this is thought "not newsworthy." So glad you remained unhurt physically and that you have wonderful folks who helped. I would certainly have stopped if I were there. God will sustain you and I will place you in my evening prayers. You are such a motivator on your blog and I thank you.

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    1. Thank you yes I cannot believe it wasn't covered it is not like a tornado this was like a hurricane massive destruction across Iowa there are two hundred here yet without power the help the town got was of course power people from all over very nice people the other was a huge generator for town but we were too messed up and sat and Sunday a semi of ice but by then those not on generators lost food of course I thought about getting a bag and laying down in parking lot with it on top of me. Our Church is going to be helping in the communities all across the state they mobilize helping hands to help every one no matter what their faith they just help

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  7. Well your terrible storm and the aftermath made news in both Australia and the United Kingdom, please know that people all over were concerned even if we could do little to help. Where I live in the southern hemisphere we get very bad storms that often leave this sort of damage and result in prolonged power outages. I am very pleased that your roof remained intact and no trees penetrated into your home.

    I have a suggestion about lighting:
    I have grabbed quite a few solar powered lights (aka Christmas lights) when they were being reduced to clear after the holiday rush & keep them charged up by putting them outside in the sun on a regular basis - I string them up where they are needed when the power goes off - ( all the flashing & mutlicolours being turned off of course). The little solar garden stakes can be plonked into a potplant & brought inside as well. These are so much safer than candles.

    When the power goes off for an extended period of time we lose mobile phone coverage (phone towers run on mains power) and we cannot purchase fuel for vehicles or generators as most fuel pumps at service stations run on mains power. We also have to be prepared for no running water in the house.

    We had our first storm for the season on the weekend so it is time for annual preparations to keep us resilient through until the end of April next year.

    Your blog each week is always read with interest, thank you for the time and thought you put into your words and pictures.

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    1. Thank you and I love the lights idea and yes we just got gas station up in town otherwise we had to go to towns unaffected or who got power back soon. We are use to tornadoes even straight line winds but this was worse way worse...so ready to have power back on we still have big stuff to cut up and drag because we do not want tree limbs coming in another storm thank you

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  8. I'm so sorry for the storm you've had and hope and pray your electric is restored soon. The generators do use a lot of gas. We would spend $20 per day on ours when we were without power. We did this by turning it off a few hours every day. It saved the freezer food for us and was so worth it. Sending good thoughts and prayers your way.

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    1. Thank you I so am ready for power to be back on thanks for prayers there are so many all across the state it cut across almost the entire state. Thank you

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  9. Hi Becky,
    Glad you are safe and the cats too. It is miserable work cleaning up after a storm in the heat. (Hurricane Andrew 1992). My in-laws had a derecho in NJ in 2012. It was horrendous!! Take care and keep safe. Beware of strangers, some are angels and some are real stinkers.
    Bun

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    1. Wow I don't remember that I heard of Andrew that was so bad too this cut a path thru center of state almost the whole way we will beware

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  10. How scary! So sorry about your garden but it's good to hear everyone is safe.
    Be careful cleaning up and take as many breaks as you can.

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    1. Will do incredible I picked six tomatoes today from the garden and the tomatoes were under the hugest branch thank you

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  11. I'm so sorry to hear about the damage, lack of power & all of the work you have ahead. Sending you good thoughts & a quick return to power (& A/C)!

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    1. Thank you...we just got power on sooooooo tired it has been a long nine days

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  12. I can't stop crying what you all went through. This is a nightmare. I wish I was closer so I could help. I am so glad you had people to help you. I am really glad you, your husband and furbabies were not hurt.

    For those of us who prep we are so grateful for the things we prepared for but it really never is enough is it? My DH got tested for Covid today. He has been very ill. I am not symptomatic at all. Somebody in our family who is a nurse thinks it's not Covid. We are hoping. My home is prepped but still I need frozen meals that could easily be prepared. My thermometer went bad during a crucial time when my DH's fever spiked. I was so blessed a relative could get me another one in thirty minutes. Side note- We did everything right and were social isolating and he still got sick. I know you are being super careful. Natural disaster and pandemic are the worst combination. I will worry about you.

    My heart goes out to you with suffering from fibro and no air. I am so sorry. I know how much that hurts. Heat is the worst for those of us who have fibro. Please keep us updated.

    I was angry to hear on the news two days after about the derecho. Two days! One of the worst natural disasters to hit this year and you were not even a news blip. What has happened to our world? You all need help now!

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    1. Just got power back what a long nine days I could not believe it wasn't covered I hope your husband gets well fast they just said yesterday they have been way under counting covid cases here in Iowa very scary. Thank you be safe

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  13. I really enjoy reading your blog each week

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    1. Thank you next week will seem weird because it was from before storm but I felt it important to put this in front of it

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  14. Saw a lot of footage of Iowa damage on CNN . We're just getting over the hurricane damage in NJ. This year just won't quit. Hoping you get your power back soon. It makes such a difference.

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    1. We just got it back on nine days after it hit I remember one snow storm thinking eight hours was alot not anymore sleeping in bed tonight will be wonderful just couldn't take the heat on second floor.

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  15. I am so sorry you have had to go through this. I am also glad your house is intact and that you and your husband are not physically harmed. I will pray for you that you have relief from your fibromyalgia.


    Shell

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  16. Hi Becky, I am sorry this stormed caused so much damage. I am glad that your home was not damaged and that it is still standing, Thank you God! I have been following your blog for about a year now don't know that I have ever commented, but I have been learning all sorts of frugal ideas from you. I will pray that you and your community get help and relief from the damage.

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    1. Thank you it is all the way across the state they said there are 8,000 homes that can't be lived in from such horrific damage we truly have been blessed

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  17. Hi Becky,

    That looks rough. Indeed, I'm sorry you had to go through this. Let me try and give you a little smile.

    Your vegetable garden took a hit, but I think that with a little work its production will be 50% to 75% of pre-storm. I think that it will surprise you.

    I'm a very ordinary, very feet on the ground guy, but when I see the photos of your cats, I really think that they're saying what you say they're saying.

    Your Monday Messages are a reason to look forward to Mondays. Really.

    Be Well,

    Keith

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    1. Thank you the garden is surprising me it was starting to slow I think it helped that I picked it of things that were ripe before the storm hit dehydrating tomatoes even now

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  18. I am popping over from thebluebirdsarenesting.blogspot.com. I read about the storm in Iowa from Jo at Joscountryjunction.com. It’s just so awful, what a mess. I am glad you came through it ok.

    Looking for a generator at a pawn shop...now that is inspired! So glad you found one!

    It took a 24 hour power outage one winter a few years ago for me to realize all the food storage I had in the freezer couldn’t be accessed without letting the cold out. So I learned how to pressure can meat and stews for meals that could be eaten (and warmed on our propane range) without having to open our fridge or freezer.

    With the recent world pandemic and how we seem to have shortages in food and household supplies, I have become very careful about wasting food and getting everything I can put aside for leaner times. Out came the dehydrator to put up veggies and fruit, in addition to the jerky, which was the only thing the dehydrator has done in the past. I live in northwest Washington state about 10 minutes from the Canadian border. We are having a hard time locating canning supplies, seals as well as new jar sets. And pectin is always missing on the store shelves.

    Like Annabel at thebluebirdsarenesting, I am praying for guidance on what needs to be done to prepare for emergencies and the second half of this weird, weird year. I am praying that my eyes and ears be open so that I recognize that guidance and am prompted to action.

    Blessing to you and yours,
    Karen aka Lace Faerie

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    1. Yes I was about to have to pressure can if had not found the generator I have lots of pressure canned meat too I am grateful tho it did not come to that it has been enough work cleaning it up....yes I have been hearing that about canning stuff and yes my dehydrator is going with tomatoes from the garden picked the day of the storm but yes keep different methods of food storing when next year comes the loss will be felt of the crops lost from this storm so keep working on your storage is a good path

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  19. I am so sorry you are going through this. We are still cleaning up from Isaias. My friend finally got her power back on. 10 days without it. I had her insulin and some of her food in my fridge/freezer.So many trees came down. My neighbors are still waiting for a tree service to come. They have branches that broke but are still up in the trees. It has been a crazy year. I am in my garden daily. I keep making pickles and relish since the cucumbers are doing so well. My dehydrator is running almost every day. I am sorry your garden got so much damage. Stay well.

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    1. The good thing is I picked the garden the morning the storm hit I still am getting things from it we were the lucky ones and now the power is on that is so great

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  20. Hello, I am sorry you have had to endure the derecho devastation. We had one in our area several years ago. Personally we were blessed with only minor damage.
    GOOD NEWS - I just heard on the news that the President was there and approved disaster aid for y'all.
    (I was sad when you said government was not there for you. Local government was probably hit by the same devastation as everyone else. And unfortunately, federal government moves slowly, probably because we have allowed it to become big and bloated over many years.)
    God bless everyone affected as they go through the recovery process!

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    1. I hope he really did for tons of people sooooo bad off
      The local gov meaning state gov is helping in cedar rapids and inspecting damage yes they were late too.... hard to have so many crisis' going on at once.... thank you

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  21. Becky,
    Sending the warmest of internet hugs ever! I am so sorry for all that has happened to you and your state. My friend has fibro and the heat makes it way worse. I do hope you are able to cool off somehow. You are in my prayers. Be careful working in the yard.
    Ginger

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