Riding Out Riley

On Friday, Wind Storm Riley hit us. I had known it would be windy but didn't take it seriously enough, and therefore didn't prepare. It had been a very blowy drive to work, being jostled and bustled from side to side as I struggled to keep between the lines on Rte 66 in the dark, wanting to avoid country lanes where trees might be down. I did think that far ahead. But as I sat at work listening to the wind tugging furiously at the metal roof overhead, and sounding like drums in a heavy rock band, I started wishing I'd done more at home. Apparently the power went down just after I left at 6:00am and I worried about Kota getting cold. I left work early, glad to be missing the heavy traffic.

 As I sat at a junction the traffic lights above me bounced up and down on their cables as though jumping a skipping rope. I marveled at how they stayed attached. The leaves were lifted and thrown across the road and even as I sat stationary, the car was rocking. As the lights turned green, I quickly accelerated, just in case those lights fell on top of Stanley, and did the same at every other junction where I passed, every light jostling and jiggling furiously, looking like at any moment they would wrench free of their constraints.
There were plenty of tree limbs down on the way home, some had already been chopped up and neatly stacked on the sides of the road. It was very tempting to stop and load up with this bountiful fire wood but I wanted to be home, worried about Kota getting cold. I was glad to finally pull up and rush indoors. The house was chilly and poor Kota and Rosie Lee were huddled up on the sofa. Dropping my bags I started up the wood stove immediately. It took a while to catch, the wind actually blowing down the chimney as though determined to thwart my attempts at kindling the starter wood. but the flames defied the cold blasts, flickering weakly at first but rapidly building in strength and heat. I pulled two chairs in front of the open flames and plonked the cats down, one on each. They looked at me and each other wonderingly, but then feeling the heat, settled down to bask in the warmth.
I quickly opened the fridge to pull out water bottles and the milk, then closed the door again, hoping the temperature would remain cool inside. The milk would now stay out on the back step, the wind would keep it chilled. I usually plan ahead for storms, filling containers and the bath in readiness, but this time I just hadn't thought we'd lose power, so I had no water at all apart from 1 gallon.

I put a saucepan of water on the stove for a much needed mug of tea. The cats watched through the patio doors, sticking close together as they tried to make sense of the racket outside. The dusk slowly crept in and the gales grew louder, as if screaming banshees were circling the house. I went outside to ensure the tarps were secure over my wood pile and stood staring at the trees. It was frightening, feeling the force of the gales and listening to them thundering through the woods towards me like a giant beast. It was a long evening with just a pale yellow light from the wood stove and an oil lamp lighting the room. Kota and Rosie Lee huddled up against me on the sofa and I read a book, my concentration constantly broken with the sound of the howling storm and branches being hurled on to the metal roof or thrown against the back of the house.

I had hoped that I'd wake up the next morning and see my alarm clock flickering on and off, waiting for the time to be reset, but there was still no power. The living room was freezing with poor little Kota sat in the rocking chair, staring at the wood stove with its bank of cold grey ashes as though he was willing flames to erupt in front of him. His desire was met within a few minutes as I made lighting the fire my first concern. I had a charged power pack for my phone and swapped messages with Bheki across the other side of the hill. We were the only ones who had stayed, everyone else had fled the previous day. Maggi always hides up in a Marriott hotel suite during these episodes, a great idea if you can afford it! Breakfast was a mug of tea and yesterday's pizza heated over the wood stove. I'd left it in the car overnight to keep it cool. I kept looking at the clock as I'd made plans to drive down to Verona, VA for a militant march being held at noon. I had no political interest but I'd thought it would be an excellent photo shoot. If the power came on early enough, I could switch on the heating and then drive down there. It didn't happen. But I found out on Monday that it had been canceled, so it seemed that karma had kicked in to ensure I didn't go, there'd been no cancellation notices on Saturday or before...
Power finally came back on Saturday afternoon. I love that sound of the oven clicking as its clock kicks in. Listening to the fridge start its whirring again and the fan on the wood stove breathe its low hum, it really made me aware of just how much we take for granted. The first thing I needed was a shower and then to do the washing up. I enjoy the 'camping' atmosphere during a power outage but not the clear up afterwards. I rushed around while Kota and Rosie Lee hovered by the door, wanting to get outside. The winds were still high but there was a sense of calmness, of survival, we'd made it through. Rosie Lee wasn't too keen on being blustered about so scurried back indoors, but Kota was resilient. He was once buffeted so hard that he nearly keeled over, promptly sitting down with the shock and looking up at me mieowing. I picked him up and we walked across the fields.

Underneath the trees we found a brief respite from the strong gales. It seemed unfair somehow that they still persisted. The sun was shining brightly and we just wanted the winds gone, they had had their moment of center stage. During the brief still moments when it seemed the winds were taking a deep breath before they puffed again, the sun felt wonderfully warm, so glorious that for a few fleeting seconds I wanted to take my jacket off and walk in just my t-shirt. But then a gust would fly across the hills with renewed energy causing the temperature to plummet once again. Kota got his fresh air but was ready to return to the warm fireside.

The rest of the weekend stayed cold and blowy with many residents still with no power. I felt very grateful that I had mine and made a point of thanking Dominion Power and their fabulous workers. They had linesmen from Florida helping them forming a crew of nearly 4000 that worked 24/7. They were not supposed to be working from up in their buckets in winds of more than 35mph but I know that was overlooked, making me even more respectful of these workers who were doing everything in their power ('scuse the pun) to get their clients back on line, (sorry, and another one...)  They later told us that Windstorm Riley "ranks as one of the top five most damaging storms in Dominion Energy history, topped only by Hurricanes Floyd, Isabel and Irene, and the Super Derecho of 2012."
The community had certainly rallied together too. Those who had power early opened their homes so folks still without could have hot showers and meals  Social media was buzzing with offers of help, and our local church was ladling out free hot chili and cornbread. If I hadn't eaten before reading that I would have gone. so all ended well and none were happier than me and my little fluffy room mates, glad that life had calmed back down again. Can we have Spring now?