Snow! (Hey Oh)

It's been nearly a year since I wrote on the preparedness blog advising people to expect more extreme weather.

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2023/02/things-to-watch-out-for-weather.html 

I don't know that the freeze this year in itself was worse than the freeze last year (and there could be another one, I know), but it seems like the disruption was worse.

We were still very fortunate; we never lost power and our pipes didn't freeze. Nothing fell on us. We had the supplies we needed.

The two of us who telecommute did not miss any income. The teacher did. (Some of the time off was covered, but not all.)

We did go six days without mail, though we would not have gotten it on the Sunday and the Monday anyway.

We missed a week of garbage pickup. They said they wouldn't charge us extra for the can being more full that next week. It is extra full two weeks in a row because we waited to empty some things to keep the bin from spilling over. It was a full missed week!

There were also things we wanted to do that didn't happen. I was going to teach a class, and we missed another week of visiting Mom.

Those things are pretty minor compared to the people who had trees fall on their houses and cars, who lost power, who had pipes burst, and who had to go to hotels to keep from freezing in their beds.

Those are people with shelter. For the unhoused, add to that the closure of many warming centers and it can be deadly.

Then, when we finally got back to the library, I saw the carts and crates full of books that needed to be shelved and sorted... I guess I knew there would be backlog, but the visual really hit home.

There are things that are easy to avoid thinking about until you can't.

For example, we heard that trees went down and power was out. Through our connections we even know some people who did have to go to hotels. However, once we finally ventured from the house and started seeing all of the uprooted trees, that's when it really hits home that it is not just a tree here and there, it is lots and lots of trees.

This is going to happen more often and worse. It makes sense to prepare.

For some people, it really might mean getting a generator. 

In case it was not clear when I said we did not get mail, I did not want our mail carrier to be at risk. I know the saying (it is not really an official motto: https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/pdf/mission-motto.pdf) about nothing staying them from their appointed rounds, but I had just read about a Texas mailman who died in 110 heat. I don't have anything coming that is worth risking anyone's life. 

But some people get their prescriptions in the mail. That could be pretty vital.

People who need warming centers are not able to wait for the city to get its act together.

We need to value people and their well-being; comfort if possible but definitely survival.

We did not order in, because I know there are people who would have risked their lives to bring me food for a few bucks, and I don't want that responsibility.

But again, we had power and we had food. 

You can't prepare for everything, but it's worth taking some time to see what you can do.

And don't take it as all gloom. In that post from last year, I wrote about how 2021's crops were taken out by the heat dome, and 2022 by an overabundance of rain at precisely the wrong time. 

I am still making big gardening plans for 2024.

So be practical, but also with hope.

Listen to what I say, oh.