This bucket has been the subject of many jokes and sideways glances from my family for the last three years.
Mention the Green Bucket to my husband or our daughter and you will be met with their stories about me and my bucket. It's one of the things they love to tease me about.
That was...until Monday night.
In my last Post, "Turning the Page to Winter", I wrote "I love rough weather, the thrill of what Mother Nature tries to throw at us and how creative we can get with throwing it back." Guess Mom Nature was listening and decided to test me.
Monday was a day of gusty winds. I'd been up at the barn most of the day. Poco's eyes have taken a turn for the worse, as Moon Blindness does with it's here today/gone tomorrow symptoms. I'd spent the day medicating him and overall, pampering him as he wasn't feeling well.
As I medicated Poco I could hear the wind banging against the metal doors of the barn. The rain sprayed on the roof. I tucked Poco in and got home before dark to feed the Belgians. I emptied and filled up their large water trough. The intensity of the wind was exciting and as I left the barn I swung my arms out wide and let it blow me around.
In the house I turned on the news while I fixed dinner. The weather guy was saying he was "upgrading" his forecast for even stronger winds that evening. But it was the look on his face that got my attention. It was a distracted, concerned look.
We get our water from a well. It takes power for the well to run. No power, No water.
Time for the Green Bucket! As I brought it in and past my husband he laughed at me saying, "Oh Oh! She's getting the Green Bucket!"
My husband uses our daughter's bathroom. I asked him if he'd like me to fill up a bucket for him? I got the usual sidelong glance and that little smile. He laughed and told me that was ok, he was sure he wouldn't need a bucket.
Ha! Around 9PM I truly thought our roof was going to blow off, the wind was roaring. A few minutes later our house went dark. Being it was 9PM we decided to go to bed and hope for the best.
But yesterday morning we were still without power. I spent yesterday playing "Pioneer Women" as I hauled basket after basket of wood into the house for the wood stove. I set up candles in strategic places and got all the animals fed and bedded down before dark.
Generators? Yup, we have a small one which my husband set up to run our fridge/freezer before he left for work. Too small to run the well.
We also have a huge monster piece of metal generator. It currently sits in our garage under outdoor furniture cushions. We've talked about putting in an electrical panel for this generator. It CAN run the well, it CAN run the lights. But we've procastinated about putting in the panel (guess what we'll soon be doing)?
As always, the Green Bucket did it's job. No fuss, no bother, sitting there when I needed it.
Last night as we used our flashlights to eat take-out dinner, my husband turned to me and said he'd never make fun of the Green Bucket again.
This morning at 4AM our lights came back on. But it's been another crazy, windy day and as I've written this I've hoped I could get finished before we lost our power.
My husband has called from work. He urged me to not empty the Green Bucket and to keep it filled in case we lose power again.
He also made a request.
Could I please fill up a bucket for him?
See the green bucket came in handy didnt it , so I guess the green bucket wont be such a laugh from now on.I have a black bucket Great story ! We have had the same thing happen to us a few months ago with the power going out due to high winds, thats the one reason I have a gas stove so I can still cook ! We to have lots of safe burning candles and have huricane lanters and a wood stove for warmth. I learnt to have all this from my parents when I was a kid on the farm. Have a great day !
ReplyDeleteLove it! Yay, green bucket! Having survived the Canadian Ice Storm of 1998, I can appreciate being a pioneer woman. :-) I was only without power on and off for a few days, but my sister was without power for 12 days and my parents for 5. Not fun. How did they do it in the olden days??? :-)
ReplyDeleteHehehe if only men just listened to us! :) Great post! Glad you are okay and there hasn't been any damage (has there???)! Take care!
ReplyDeleteWind is a part of life in our mountains, especially in the winter. Typically they blow every day with gusts up to 35 mph, but whenever a snow storm arrives, which is weekly most of the winter, the winds gust up to 60mph.
ReplyDeleteThe sound reminds me of ocean waves crashing over our house.
I don't deal well with that kind of wind. It unnerves me and makes me feel unsettled.
Thankfully, we rarely ever go without power here because our neighborhood power lines are all underground and the highway power poles are built to withstand high winds and we don't have tall trees to knock them down. My kids wish we'd be without power more often because they like cooking dinner over the fire...and eating S'Mores :)
Thank goodness for the green bucket and for take out food, eh?
~Lisa