What is it like with no power? It must be somewhat like living in a third world country I supposed. A power outage in area meant No heat – no TV – no place to power up your phone – no music – no light – no reading your fav novel before falling asleep – worrying how to keep your aquarium habitants warm enough to survive – no warm food – no coffee!
Yes, I was without power for four days and nights with no estimate of when it might be coming back. Wearing my heaviest jacket and a scarf with a blanket over my legs I was able to stay relatively warm reading by flashlight on my sofa. And, with an added heavy blanket over my bed and windows shut tight and all blinds drawn we only lost about 2 degrees a night. That was enough to bring our heat down to 58 inside.
With several large towels wrapped around my small aquarium my frogs appeared to go into hibernation mode. In fact I barely saw them for the entire time…just a quick jump up for air once or twice. Before we ran out of warm water I did add some to their tank twice and once more after asking a local coffee shop to spare me a cup of their warm water.
Aside from no food and everything in the freezer going – going – gone and , the worst, no morning coffee – once the sun was down there was literally next to nothing to do but stare at my small lanterns and light-up birch tree. Reading with a flashlight is not terrific and trying to play cards almost impossible. Playing games would be a good option if you live with others.
The Silver Thaw
The silver thaw was quite beautiful. But, I am so glad not to live in Minnesota, thank you, or Texas right now, or New Jersey for that matter.
Once the snow and ice melted off my car I set out to find a nearby cafe for breakfast. And thankfully did find one with power operating not too far off. As I got in my car to drive, I saw that my windshield was blocked. Wow, a large layer of snow covered in ice from mid windshield three-quarters of the way down my hood. My hand was literally numb after tearing it off piece by freezing piece.
My aquarium guys are coming back to life after their short hibernation trek. But it is taking them awhile to get active again. And, I definitely need to restock my fridge soon. The peanut butter on toast thing is getting old!
I do hope everyone’s power is back on by now. It is not a fun time without. That is the first time other than a few hours for me of being ‘in the dark’. How I wonder do the people in third world countries exist? How thankful I am to be here. Even without power at least we had plumbing and shelter.
Thank God for letting me be born in the USA.
Additional Reading for Aquarium Tips
Check our our post on operating an aquarium – “You? Operate an Aquarium?”.
And, see “Fire Danger“.
“.
Thanks
Thanks for coming by. To receive our weekly posts, just go our Subscribe button at the very bottom of this page. Please do share our site with your pet-loving family and friends. We are happy to answer your questions and receive your comments.
Wow Nikki, you just aptly described my own dreadful four day experience without power except I was dealing with cold kitties instead of cold froggies. I too thought about people in poverty stricken countries as well as the homeless population here and elsewhere–not to mention homeless and neglected animals. Our brief experiences with what seemed like unbearable discomfort reminds us to appreciate how “good” we have it most of the time and that we all need to learn to care for those in need when we can. We ARE all in this together.
Thanks Katrob! Like your comment.