Friday, January 27, 2012

Seattle Ice Storm Took Us By Surprise

It snows occasionally here in the Pacific Northwest and Seattle, but normally it melts very quickly and the rains begin. I personally prefer the snow over the dreary rains, but Mother Nature decides what and when!

On January 18, 2012 we were outside with the kids and grand-kids building snowmen and a snow fort! Around a foot of snow had fallen and the girls who are just 2 and 4 were having so much fun. Snow angels, snow balls, carrots for the snowmen's noses, sleds and mittens were scattered around our yard.  







After we built the snow fort and everyone left we lost power. Losing power in our home means no water or phones/internet too. We found some dry wood and started up the wood stove, made some dinner and went to bed.

Then the ice storm hit. We could hear the trees breaking apart and dropping their heavy snow-laden branches. We looked out the window and some of the branches had fallen into the ground like spears. We could hear the trees falling all around us. We packed up the blankets and moved away from the windows and "slept" in the middle of the living room.

English: A buildup of ice on a branch after an...
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By morning the trees that were left were twisted and frozen in place where they stood when the storm hit.

Their branches were covered in thick ice, which at times looked like beautiful jeweled Christmas bulbs.

Branches, tree tops and trees were splintered off and were sprinkled all over the property.

The power lines were down across our driveway and into the pasture.  Our poor horse was so frightened she stayed in the barn all day.

We were trapped in our home until Sunday when the power company finally came and pulled the power lines away.

We used the melting snow from the roof to water our animals and the snow on the ground to keep our perishables cold.  The power and water remained off until Thursday January 26th.







After all was said and done we were even called "Snow Wimps" by the L.A. TimesJoshua Trujillo from the Seattlepi has some great photos of the storm for you to check out too.

We survived of course, played scrabble and cribbage and read a few books by gas lanterns. Camping is fun, but I think just a couple of days of it is enough for me!

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11 comments:

  1. What fabulous photos! I bet your kids loved it. They look so sweet. And love your lab - looks just like mine did. He loved the snow.

    Can't believe we didn't get that snow just north of you in Vancouver. Weather gets stranger every year.

    Bundle up!
    Cheers
    Gayle

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  2. Hi Gayle! I know the weather has been strange. You would think that you would have gotten some of the storm. Thanks for stopping in!Lisa

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  3. glad you survived. my mom lives up the road in bellingham and they had 8 inches, but it wasn't nearly as bad from what this sounds like. Big props on the fort, that was amazing.

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  4. it looks like you made the best of the storm and had some fun with it! Love the photos, have a great week!
    Lisa

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  5. Hi BBB! I didn't know that your mom lived here. Yes, we are south of Seattle and usually get more snow. The kids had fun making the fort!

    Hi Lisa, Madison and Abigail! Thank you for popping in. Yes the girls had a blast out there!

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  6. Fun for the kids that got to play in the snow...but losing power and trees coming down ...not so good!We've all had our share of freakish weather!

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  7. What great photos. May be the snow had surprise you but you all seem quite happy. Nothing compares to a snowy afternoon with the kids.

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  8. Wow, amazing. Look at all the snow you got. It seems like the kiddos had so much fun playing in the snow. Hope you and your family are doing okay. Take care :)

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  9. @Gerry, The weather has been strange!
    @Rachel, Thank you. The snow is great! The girls loved it!
    @spanish4kiddos, It is all but melted now! The clean up of the fallen trees is going to take a bit! Thanks for stopping in!Lisa

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  10. I love the snow forts. My son would love that. I am a new follower from the Finding New Friends Blog Hop. I would love for you to hop over to Saving and Sharing It and visit.

    Katie
    http://www.savingandsharingit.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Katie! Thank you! I am making my way down the list of the blog hop! See you soon! Lisa

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Not what we give,
But what we share,
For the gift
without the giver
Is bare.
~James Russell Lowell

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