To Everything A Season

Snowmageddon February 2021

Around Wednesday February 10,  it started getting really cold around here. Valentine's Day, February 14 was technically the first day of the Snowmageddon. We did not have church services that morning as the snow had begun to fall, and it was bitterly cold. The temperatures were below freezing on Thursday and would stay below for the next 10 days. 

We had about 3-5 inches of snow - enough to cover the ground. School had to be canceled along with everything else for the next week. The night temperatures were under 15 with a low of -2 one night. On Tuesday and Wednesday we received another 3-4 inches of snow. Supposedly this was the lowest temperatures in 70-80 years, and the second longest period of days below freezing.

Many people in the Gunter area experienced rolling black outs where they would have electricity for 15 minutes and off for 45 minutes. Everyone had a different story. Some people lost power for days, some lost water, and some lost neither. We lost our internet for 5-6 days. We collected drinking water and put some in the bathtub "just in case." The grocery stores were very similar to the early days of Covid. People were hoarding up water, bread, and other basics.

Rick and I had just recently gotten a load of firewood. We had plenty of propane and groceries. We stayed out in the game room during most of this time and kept the propane heater going. We stayed nice and toasty. 

We were very fortunate that all we lost was internet for a few days and had no damage after the ten days. The church and school did not fare well through this; they had many burst pipes. Justin had several shifts during this time and the department as a whole had record numbers of calls. Jenna had to stay at the hospital two or three nights as she couldn't be on the roads. They both had quite the stories to tell. 

I will say it was hard on Rick having to go out to feed and care for the animals. Thank goodness Justin and Rickie helped him with cracking ice on the ponds. Unfortunately, we lost all our "pet" geese. After so many days of snow, they wandered off for the first time ever. We found two on the road; they had been hit trying to cross. The others were never to be seen; we feel like they made it across the road but fell to coyotes and/or bobcats. So sad we lost them after so many years. 

I must say the kids enjoyed the snow break.