First Storm of the Season

When my Christmas Cactus blooms I know we can expect the beginning of the storm season.

Last night we went out to dinner on the mainland. When we came out of the restaurant it was sunny, although we could see storm clouds to the south, the direction from which most storms hit the island.

Sure enough, by the time we got home 30 minutes later we found ourselves right in the middle of a strong windstorm. There were fir needles & branches all over the road, & in one section the fire department was diverting traffic & cleaning up a tree that had gone down.

We were about a mile from our house by then, & it was getting dark when we noticed none of the houses had lights. That always means we'll be out, since our neighborhood electricity is always the first to go out as well as the last to go on.When I checked with PUD (our Public Utilities District) their phone recording said 51 people were out.

We keep a latern & oil lamps in the dining room within easy reach, so I read by oil lamp for awhile then decided to go to bed. We didn't get power until 5:30 the next morning.

When we ask PUD officials why we're always the ones to go out they never have any other explanation than "there's lots of trees". Well, there's lots of trees all over the island & when we look across the sound there's lots of trees on that island too & they rarely go out. This winter I'm keeping a close count on days we're out & then raise some stink about it.