The first step of that included Dave Roberts and his team arriving at 10 a.m. with chain saws and plows in tow to free us from our driveway. They had that done in no time and were starting work on bringing down the tree from the roof when our tree guy, Bob DiRuzzio arrived with his team of four to finish the work and patch the roof. Within in a short time, they were on to the next job -- superheros -- all of them.
Dave Roberts to the Rescue!John and I then went down to our other friend Dave's in Millerton. As we drove toward Rt. 11 (The Beauty Highway), we saw that this road, not even two miles from our house, had gotten by relatively unscathed. A bit further up on Rt. 11, there were more wires down, but less tree damage and the surroundings didn't look so...frozen. The deer seemed to congregate in the area as well - a place to get food, I guess. Up in the hills, we could see the ice line but the further we got to Hillsdale, the more and more things looked, well....normal.
Our friend Dave once again provided us with refuge. Seems like when the going gets tough we go to Dave's. Just like last winter, we went to his place when our electric line into the house that was underground got water in it and coroded away and froze our pipes. Having Dave nearby makes me feel like camping in the back yard. If things get scary, we're sure to find safety with him.
Anyway, Dave provided warmth, hot showers and electricity to recharge our flashlights, etc. , while we pondered his ongoing water (and mouse) issue. He ooohed and aahhed at our photos while we ooohed and aaahed at the water seeping into his sub-basement.
Then we drove back up through Pine Plains, which looked like it got hit worst of all -- I mean really battered, before stopping by the Taghkanic Fire House to see what they had to offer in terms of warmth, shelter, food, supplies. The volunteers were awesome and we met a few of our neighbors, which was nice, as they set up cots for people who were without any type of heat. On Sunday, we went back for dry ice, which worked wonders and noticed many more cots, and people showing up for assistance. (It's actually a pretty humbling experience showing up at a Red Cross Shelter and being in need of help).
But, alas, by Monday, I was "done." My super-trooper mentality had waned and with the temperatures expected to hit 60 degrees, I wanted out. I had work to do, went into Hudson where dozens of entreprenurial types like myself holed up at the Muddy Cup looking for a working outlet, getting lost in emails, warming up with hot chocolate. When I got back to the ranch, John gave in to my disheartened-ness, and we headed home.
On Monday, there was barely a word spoken between us. We weren't angry with each other, just totally drained and worn out. And now we sit by, hoping for the best, having taken all the proper precautions to protect the house (draining the pump and other stuff too technical for me to note).
I'll post more photos from the recovery when I get the camera back in my hands. But for now, fingers crossed.
Icicle Trees
2 comments:
I see John's doing a great job of helping to clear the trees, in that first photo. --Dave
The man was born to supervise. ;-)
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