WOW! All day Tues. I kept peering out my son's house
windows (I was over there babysitting all day) looking for the promised
snow/rain weather tv had scared me with for days before....and all that
happened *all day* was very strong winds from western/northern directions.
Huge hardwood trees bent (not just branches, *the trees*) and I thought
often of you all, CAT, out there on the prairie, where the storm must have
had its full force!
Explanation to rpca friends: I live in downtown Denver,
which I usually refer to as "MileHigh"....CAT and family
live about 80 miles south and east of here, on the Great
Plains of CO, where trees are scarce and farms are numerous.....
I was so grateful and happy that the storm apparently missed MileHigh
completely except for the wind - no snow where I live, just a touch of rain.
But the tv said it
all flew by to north of here and swept through CAT's
area with its full power.
Yes, CAT, daffodils and also hyacinths are blooming big
here in son's yard, also violets and those pink flowers that start with a
"c" native to this area, not to mention the 'orange lily things.
And still the natives locally are telling me, the dumb former south
Floridian, that this is "the usual" weather in
our newer home.....Hopitus will be happy as h*** when
all these weather threats and storms quit for the summer.
I see what the natives meant when they said, "Ha. That lasts about 3 days!"
when I told them upon my arrival in
June that I had visited every season except spring.......


"CATherine" wrote in message
...
Tuesday in Colorado, a powerful storm blew through. Rain, snow and
extremely strong winds. They said gusts of 60mph near the mountains
and the cities. But out on the prairie, where there is not much to
slow the wind down, I do believe the wind was a lot stronger.

It was hard to drive with the wind hitting the side of the car. By the
time I got to work, I was tired from my deathgrip on the steering
wheel. I opened the door to get out and the wind slammed the door on
my foot! It was like that all day. By the time I was done seeing
clients, I was tireder from fighting the wind than I was from the
work.

As i drove home across the prairie, I noticed damages from the wind.
Signs, storage sheds and even a portapotty at a construction site were
rolling in the wind. But I didn't have too much attention for seeing
things like that as I was trying to keep the car on the road.

Once i got home, I just relaxed for a moment before opening the door.
I was so glad the driver's door was on the lee side of the wind. Then
Jeff came out to escort me to the house. He often does, knowing I am
tired.

He had bad news for me. No electricity. Well, that happens some times
in the country. But I said it should come back on after awhile. He
said, No. Then he turned me around and said look up the hill behind
the house. So what do I see? Nothing. What should I see? Poles with
the electric wires.

The wind had hit the poles with hurricane force and snapped them like
matchsticks. At 10:30 in the morning. Jeff had called the power
company. They said they had so many poles down that they had borrowed
crews from other power companies. And in many places the wires had
snapped connections and were on the ground shorting out.

We were luckier than many people out here. We live in a very old place
with a real well; not just a pipe in the ground. My son set up a block
and tackle and lowered a bucket in the well so we could have water. We
have a wood stove so we could stay warm and cook. And we lit a lot of
candles. It was kind of like camping. But I sure missed my computer.

I am glad we have the power back on. We were out for about 30 hours.
They got our six poles replaced late last night. But there are still a
lot of broken poles to replace. I see trailers with loads of creosoted
poles sitting at sites of downed poles, waiting their turn.

A friend of mine lost her brand new roof. Now her insurance won't pay
for another one.

Last week I was snowed in for two days with a heavy wet snow. The next
few days was 70 degrees. Then this storm hit us. Now it is 70 again.
This sure is crazy weather for April. I want ot see some flowers. The
redbuds and apple tree should be blooming. At least I am seeing
daffodils in the city where the weather is a bit warmer than the
country.

--
CATherine