Day 3 no power

If you study the power outage map as frequently as we do, you can see that power is getting closer to us all the time, but we are still in the dark. One saving grace is the temps were warmer than expected today and we were spared any additional winter precipitation. It is decidedly cooler in the back of the house today and we could see our breath in the bathroom, so we don’t spend much time back there.
I made my first foray out today to Fuller and Sons hardware. Rumor had it they had a truck coming that might have portable heaters. I got a small propane heater and a case of propane and gave it to our son. His house only has a gas hot water heater- no fireplace or gas cooktop, so he and his roommates have been freezing. I tried to get d batteries and another stick lighter but they were long gone.
On the drive there I was saddened to see the destruction of so many trees and bushes. Pine trees were by far the hardest hit, but I saw oaks, hickories, dogwoods and many bending crape myrtles.
There will be a lot of pruning chores to do once this snow disappears. It is amazing how much snow is still in our yards, but the streets were quite passable. I answered a lot of questions while I was out. If your plants are just bending with no breakage, leave them alone and they should straighten up. Uprooted trees and any with broken branches will not recover as well. One man asked if he could replant a small holly that had uprooted. If you can get the roots back in the ground and staked, it has a chance. Remember nice clean cuts, no wound dressings or tree paint.
As I was out, I also saw 4 energy trucks in our neighborhood and I sent good thoughts their way. On another positive note, we had trash pickup today. Luckily I saw the truck run past our house so Katie and I quickly took the big green things across the street to our neighbors, so we will have space when we get the power back. Food is beginning to defrost so we are having some interesting meals. The kids all enjoyed eggnog french toast for breakfast and we had deer sausage meatballs and spaghetti for dinner.
Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and mid 40′s, and we are keeping our fingers crossed for power!