DECEMBER 2007 FORUM

My dad put tarps on all of our vehicles so that we could see if we needed to leave quickly for whatever reason. The windshield and parts of the side windows are covered.

Every thing is iced here also, lots of wrecks, been listening to scanner. Hope we don't lose power also, I have gas, and a pellet stove so if elec goes out will still have gas heat because they are free standing stoves, won't be able to use my pellet tho and thats all we have been using, trying to save on the high gas.Hope everyone is in and safe, hope leaf is in she said she was going to town today and hope she made it home safely.

Hi Everyone! I hope you all stay safe, sound and warm and the storm just comes and goes quickly!! I am not fond of ice storms after what we went thru in Jan but at least we are not milking cows this year. That makes life much easier for us. The road dept has been busy the past week trimming all the trees off the power lines...that is a comfort. If we do lose power we have a generator and also a wood stove so we will be fine.

Eva May, I hope you will check in and let us know you are home.

Everyone have a nice nite!

We are staying put til Monday. Then it's back to work.

I have still no icy yet and I got everything is generators and camping stove also kerosene heater...

I don't think the ice is going that far south this time. I could be wrong though.

Never know yet! The weather is not perfect!

Nope! Better safe than sorry! If you didn't have all that stuff then you would get ice. But since you are prepared then the chances of ice are slim. :~)

If the power is out I hate what happen to Icy Storm in Jan no power for 27 hrs! Also I fell twice on icy! ouchs! lol....

Anna...whatever you do if it gets icy don't slip and fall like you did during the last ice storm!! That's an order!! :0)

Amanda..you are right, we are ready for the storm so maybe it won't happen!!

Anna we posted at the same time! LOL! And we were both thinking the same thing!

Right! lol....

So, I just very carefully this time not fall again so I got 'get-a-grip advanced' to put on the shoes that way I won't slip it again...

In 02 we were without power for 9 days. We had to go the the local HS to take showers and the night we finally got power back we went across the street cause my neighbor had a generator and hot water plus a fireplace. We also on the first day had to clear the driveway so we could get out. Tree limbs everywhere. Driveway and yard was covered. We hauled it all out into the pasture and made a brush pile that ended up being taller than the house. The pile is still there though smaller in size.

Anna I have ice walkers too and I couldn't have gotten around last Jan. without them. Every place you walked was like a skating rink!

Amanda...remember this pic of our house during the ice storm?

Yep!! Remember that pic!! And at work we use the yaktraks to get around. Just don't walk on slick concrete. lol. You will fall down real fast.

Powell Gardens closed even due to weather?!!! WOW, I don't remember that ever happening before. Maybe I just didn't know about it. Your weather is a lot worse than ours if it is that bad. The snow from yesterday is melting today. The icey rain/sleet/snow conditions predicted didn't happen after all. I was told to not come to work tonight but I am going to be lost not being at the cafe' on Sat. night. I'll be so disoriented I may forget what tomorrow it. It could mess me up for the whole week. LoL I'm a very time & event schedule oriented person and can get thrown off quite easily if I miss something I usually do.

Bonnie, you are much more generous than Jack and I ever were at Christmas. $10 - $20 each is the norm for this family. If I can get an expensive item on sale during the year I certainly will do it and stash it away until Christmas time. I'm not beyond buying something at a yard/rummage sale or thrift shop to give as a gift. Sometimes you can get brand new or at least new looking and working items like that for a fraction of the new cost. I need to get Sheila's gift wrapped and mailed to here on Monday or Tuesday.

We have had a wild cat or 2 around here for some time. For a few weeks the 2 duck and 2 goose hens have been refusing to go into the bird house by themselves most nights & I often have to turn on the light and still have trouble getting them in without searching the building first. Once about 2 weeks ago a black wild cat went tearing out the door as I was searching. Last night it didn't bother to run, just huddled down in the box it was hiding in. I shut it in the building and took it some catfood. This morning I found out that was a big mistake. It had killed one of my banty hens not long before I went out. Everything had been eaten but the skin on the back, part of the head and the feet. I wasn't sure for a bit if it was a huge pigeon or a banty hen. Anyway I just went ahead and shot the cat like I should have done last night. It was so wild that catching it and holding it over the weekend to take to the shelter on Monday wasn't a good option. It acted as tho it may have been tame at one time but may have never tamed down again and anyway it was a proven bird killer.I'm not one to kill cats or dogs unless there just doesn't seem to be any other good options and this is one of those times.

I think it is time to breakdown and swap my summer and winter clothes in the dressers. I doubt I will be wearing shorts or sleeveless tops for a while. And those sweat pants & tops feel so good this time of the year.

I actually started this post about 8 hours ago and just discovered I had never finished it. I'm tired and am ready for some zzzzs. GOD bless and keep each of you.

P.S. Thanks everyone for all the concern. It warms my heart to know so many people care that much about me. I got home from town about 1 in the afternoon. I had to go & be done with most of the shopping before noon as the feed stores close at noon on Sat. & I was low on milo, whole corn, and laying mash. Then on to BreakTime to fill the van tank, Dollar General for a couple items, and Orschlens for black oily sunflower seeds for the best price I could find in town. None of the wild birds will eat that feed I got the day of the RU and some of my poultry & pigeons don't like it either. 400# of mixed grains and very few birds eating it. lol I filled the wild bird feeders with the sunflower seeds immediately. I saw a few Juncos out there but that is all. Oh well, word will be spread thru the bird kingdom that the good stuff is now available and soon every kind of bird we feed will start to show up. We feed a lot of common sparrows and they usually eat both at the feeders and in the birdyard but this year they have eaten very little since I only had the Lowe's stuff in the feeders and was trying to get the poultry and pigeons to eat it.

The snow melted all afternoon. I called the cafe' about 4:45 to see if I should go on in since the storm didn't materialize but they said it was getting very icy and there was rain coming down which was freezing as soon as it hit. Some people from the highway dept. were there and told Dale to expect up to 2" I think he said by morning. That seems like an awful lot so maybe I misunderstood him. I've about made up my mind to stay home from church tomorrow morning. It is getting worse out there as the night wears on.

This message was edited Dec 9, 2007 1:05 AM

Leaf that is a good idea to stay in today. All church services have been cancelled, we got a good 1-2 inches of ice last night, It woke me up as we had thunder ice. more comming in today.Good time to stay in and be warm and safe.Have to take Fred to dialysis in the morning, but hope it isn't too bad, they should have the main roads pretty cleared by then I hope.

Well, I just woke up at 3 am and still no icy yet until 8 am yup! I got huge icy on tree and it all over on the street that tree's branches snaps alot.... Sheesh! I took pic and get back inside so cold 28*....
Rusty won't go outside for his bathroom so I yell at him final he did! lol...

Another pic of my back porch deck and see the wire (electric on icy and other cable)

Elle & I are tuck in as good as you can with all these rabbits had thunder storms from about 1 am to 5 or so it started to freeze about 7am this morning been to the barn and turned the water heaters on and made sure everything is all right will need to go back out in a little bit to give the goats some hay and take care of a few other chores for the rabbits think i will feed them at the same time today in case the electric goes off. It will take a big storm to take down the lines this year theres not many limbs to fall on them this year the folks that had the tornadoes hit in 03 didn't lose theirs in the last ice storm put they had there power down for a week then with a lot more damage than we had in the ice storm Elle was lucky this week she is off till Tuesday and we aren't answering the phone it's starting to rain harder again as I type everyone take care and ya'll be in our thoughts

I don't know how much ice we have since it is a mixture of ice and snow but altogether I think we have close to 3 inches since I can only see the tips of some of the grass. We are supposed to get another inch of ice Mon night into Tues.

EvaMae, the roads at PG are really bad. That's why they closed down. When we had our spring ice storm we also closed down for day or 2. Everyone was having trouble getting in. If they know the weather is gonna be really bad like this then they will close down. We don't want anyone to drive into the lake in this kind of weather like I came close to doing last spring. lol

I will take pics hopefully tomorrow. As far as I know we will be open. Tues I have off so it won't affect me if they are open or closed.

Ally, I have been thinking about you having to drive on those slippery streets to take you DH to the dialysis treatements and then going to get him later. As for the thunder, Barbara just told me about it a few minutes ago. I guess I slept right thru it. Of course I didn't go to be until 1 a.m. or after. So I guess I just went to sleep when it started. I always sleep well during storms anyway.

I am praying no one has icy conditions like they did last year. Of course since most of the trees that did the damage are now gone, there will be less chance of damage from that. J.D. and Kerri got all new siding, a new roof on most of the house, a new storage shed, and something else I can't think of right now as well as a large payment for staying there. Their insurance automatically pays so much per day when a house is badly damaged. A motel and eating out would have cost much more than that amount so they just stuck it out at home. He said they would have had to go to Branson to find a motel anyway. They live right in Springfield. He has a propane heater that is large enough to heat most of their little house and their hot water heater is run by LP gas. So life wasn't too terribly bad. I guess the city's water dept. had electricity because he talked about them taking showers, etc.

Anna, please take care not to fall anymore this year. Stay inside as much as possible. My dogs don't like going out very much either. Especially little Penney. Darcy and Nita are more hardy and will stay outside for quite a little while when they finally do go outside.

I was right about the birds coming to the feeders when I put the sunflower seeds in them. I have Juncos, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Sparrows of several kinds, a few finches, and some I don't know the names of. More come every few minutes. Word has spread quickly. LOL

Does everyone have at least a 3 - 5 day supply of drinking water for themselves and their house pets in case they lose their water supply? And water for flushing toilet stools? And taking at least partial sponge bathes? I have about 8 gallons of water for myself and the cats and dogs. A few gallons for the birds, and about 20 gallons for flushing and washing up a bit. Fortunately I have one LP gas heating stove - the one in the living room - that isn't dependent on electricity. And a gas grill - tho I may need to have Kyle buy me a new bottle of gas since that Weed Dragon uses a lot of gas - and lots of charcoal for very slow cooking. I have plenty of food to eat right out of the jars or cans. Anything in the 'fridge can go out on the front porch and some frozen stuff can go into coolers that are already setting out there getting good and cold. I have lamps and some lamp oil and candles and flashlights so I'm pretty well ready for whatever may come.

Dave how strong is the new roof on the rabbit barn? Will it handle as much or more than the old one? That is a real concern of mine for you and Elle. Since the rabbits are so much a part of your income another loss like you had last year could be devistating.

GOD bless and keep each of you.

If we lose power we won't lose our water. We just lose hot water. Then we go to town where they have generators to keep things going or I will go to a friend's house. Or even just go to work. They won't mind.

For those of you who love snowball fights this is the game for you!! LOL

www.elfmovie.com/swf/snowball_fight/index.html

I have big cedar trees around me among the other stuff. These are about 60 -70 ft trees. They have taken a beating and it is goign to get worse if we pick up some wind One in the neighbors yard was about completely topped. some real good sixed limbs hav been lost on a couple of the others.

Take pics if you can.

Hi everyone, AuntB here is a picture of pink beauty. It is doing great. It is the tall one next to the blooming thing (can't think how you spell that now). I do have a question tho, the plant to the left of pink beauty is monster white, it has huge flat leaves and the pink beauty has more of a cupped leaf, is that normal?

Cold and icy up here and I am flying out tomorrow for Oklahoma, love to fly just not in icing conditions.

Garden room lost heat sometime between Thursday night and Saturday! DH got it fixed. Amazing I think the only thing that looks worse the wear are a couple of coleus. I had been planning on putting in a temperature gauge that would transmit to the house so I would know the temp so I finally went out and immediately purchased one, "the hardest lesson to learn is to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done rather you like it or not" (hate that saying cause it is way too true and still at this age I am still learning the hardest lesson!).

Hope everyone is doing well in these temps and ice. Yesterday about 5,000 feet and up it was around 45 degrees which is why we got freezin rain.

Joyce

AuntB, here is a picture of versi pink, tall one in the middle it is doing fine but I do have a few yellow leaves, don't know if I am watering too much or not enough. I think not enough...

Joyce

Hope everyone makes it thru this storm with only minor damage.

Live way north of KC probably closer to St. Joseph. Trees are beautiful and really covered with ice. I sure hope we don't have any wind. I am waiting until daylight to go to work. I am ususally there by 6am, but I am going to wait this morning and hopefully it will warm up a little here.

Be safe and warm.
Joyce

Hope all is safe and warm as well. The roads and sidewalks glisten on the edges with ice.

All of our ice melted last night so it looks like we are safe in our area. Hope all of you are careful and safe if you venture out!

It rained all night here, tree limbs trying to cope with 1/2 inch of ice. It's still raining and I hear the eery sounds of wood snapping when I check it out from my front porch... not good. I have 1 big maple limb down in back, and a lot of dead limbs that needed pruned out anyway....no harm, but there is certainly potential for much destruction.. I'll hope for the wind NOT to come up.... Rose, it's starting to look like the pic you posted... I'm warm and safe.

Joyce, I think maybe I see a couple different types of Peace Lily but I could very well be mistaken. The ficus tree is nice but looks unhappy about the low temps it went thru. Everything else looks good. That picture brings back memories of my plant room. Remember the door that had the white plastic over it at the end of my hallway just next to the bathroom? That is a 14' X 16' room (I think I remember that size from measuring it a few weeks ago)that use to be devoted entirely to plants in the wintertime. Mealy bugs, etc. ruined it for that permenantly. Now it is just a messy storage room.

I think there is a message to everyone in these ice storms. DO NOT plant trees that tower above the roof of your house close to the house. Think carefully about how that tree could fall when it is mature and what would happen if it fell in the direction of your house or overhead electrical lines. We have removed 3 trees in the past 15 years or so for just that reason and 2 more need to be removed but they have been here so long no one but Shad & I is willing to do it. The maple stump that the eagle is sitting on is all that is left of an 80+' tall tree that finally pierced the roof right over my bed during one storm. I awoke to a soaked bed and Jack finally allowed the tree to be removed. Shad and I had taken GOD's hints seriously for a few years and were removing all limbs we thought threatened the house that we could safely remove with our lack of expertiese and equipement. Mostly he just climbed up, sawed thru a limb to weaken it & tied an rope or chain around it past the sawed place. Then we tied the rope or chain to the lawnmower or old '87 van's bumper hitch and drove off. The limb would break and we hauled it off. But a couple were in positions we could not safely get to to remove. One of them was the one that went thru the roof over my bed. This doesn't mean you can't have shade trees next to your house, just think carefully how tall it will be at maturity. As long as it is taller than the windows it will provide some shade from the glaring sun in the summertime.

It's melting here too. I've been watching channels 4 & 5 on TV to keep track of the storm. Our oldest son is an over the road driver so I'm always concerned about him. Hopefully he will be back in Sedalia to pick up a better truck that the last one he took out by now. The one he had been driving was back in the shop for major electrical work when this load came up. Being the newest driver for the company he gets the oldest trucks and the fewest miles. But having payed for the CDL training and license he has to stay with it. He has to have off his feet work because he has terrible spurs on the bones in his heels. VA has spent a fortune in shoes and insoles for him and he is on Tramadol, etc. for pain all the time unless he can stay off his feet. I think in the long run it would have cost less to remove them surgically. However that is not always successful as they often grow back.

GOD bless and keep each and all of you.

We are doing fine ice is about all gone we were suppose to ship last night but they change it till Thursday this week because of the weather which didn't hurt my feelings any it was cold and wet last night rained most of the night may get ice again tonight and Wednesday night changing to snow but it looks as though the worst of it may be past.
Evamae yes the barn is much stronger than it was many more braces than it had

To everyone out there in the midst of the ice and or recovering from it.
Keep your chin up! My family went through this last year - 30 days of NO electricity.
It just seems so "early" to have this kind of storm. It seems more sensible to have this in February or March.

Rockin R----- there is no sence to anything anymore. We got blazing texas like summers in around here. Armidillos all over the place for the first time in history, Black Bear growing in numbers at a very fast pace and the return of the mountain lion to missouri. Man sure knows how to manage his resources don,t he. This is the third year in a row for Ice storm damage to central Mo. Nothing like last year however when it caught millions upon millions of dollars in boat in marinas aound here. This one took the greatest toll on cedars. If they are big 60 ft cedars and the freezing rain gets into the limbs it forms giant balls that would kill a man if they fell on him. According to tonights local paper the area around and in Eldon Mo was almost flattened. Govenor sent in troops. Plus there are something like 300 lineman trying to get us all back on line. I just our electric up about a hour ago after ahving been without since monday morning.

Glad to hear of only minor damage so far from you guys. We have no damage to our trees so far it seems. We will know for sure once the ice melts.

Almost all of St. Joseph is without power today. They have 55.000 people there and this morning 45,000 had no power. Most will be without for 7 days or so.

We got lucky and lost no power. The ice is thick and our road was an ice rink this morning. Now that the temp's above freezing it's not so bad. PG stayed open today as far as I know. I never saw or heard anything.

Here's a pic of our road and some trees this morning.

Pepper, how is I-70 up your way? I'm debating on going to see Kris in Independence tomorrow or Thursday. She says it isn't too bad up there during the day. I haven't had the van out of the garage since about noon on Sat. and am not too interested in driving on ice. Or finding a piece of black ice on what looks like just wet pavement.

Oz, our oldest son is a OTR driver for a local trucking company and he came here on 65 yesterday. Said it was really getting icy until he got to about Warsaw/Strett Creek area(I think that is the area he said)where his aunt lives and then it was less icy but then got worse as he got closer to Sedalia. He had his wife call his aunt and offer her lodging if she needed it due to power loss but his aunt said she still had power. I'm glad to hear you have power back. I heard that Versailles was without power.

So far we are doing ok here. In fact, it melted most of today. It will freeze again during the night tho. I think it is suppose to get down to 29* overnight then warm back up to the low 30*s for the day tomorrow.

Rocking R, we lost power for a day or 2 last year. It was really boring. No TV or internet, the radio in the house wouldn't pick up the radio station I listen to in the van, too icy to hardly go out to take care of the birds, cafe' closed because of no power, etc. I learned to go back to the way I lived as a small child when my family moved to rural central MO from one of the most modern suburbs of Chicago in '47. We got up when it got light or used kerosene lamps to see by and went to bed pretty early at night. Winters back then were kind of boring too if I remember correctly. We got electriciy around here about 1950 or '51 I think. We had a telephone before we had electricity.

GOD bless and keep each of you.

I-70 seems to be ok. Slow but I saw trucks out there earlier this morning when my dad and I were out and about. Go ahead and try it if you want. Just go slow.

Roads never were a problem here just the trees and other stuff like power lines.