The Dark of the Year

The cow gate

Last Friday the 18th our power went out at around 4:30 p.m. in the midst of a wet and heavy snowstorm. It had that feeling of finality, almost an audible “clunk”, and we all looked at each other and said,”Well, that’s that.”

We have surprisingly few power outages here in our southern Appalachian boondocks, and so it took a few minutes to mobilize our resources—remembering where candles and candleholders were, mainly. Of course the wood cookstove was chugging merrily along, pumping out heat and simmering a pot of chicken soup, so there were no worries there; and our freezer and a fridge are out on the back porch, which usually seems so redneck, but now made me feel a little like a genius.

Our water situation was annoying but workable: we have a spring, but it requires a pump to get up the hill to the house. But at least we were able to dip water and bring it in in buckets for drinking and the toilet, and—heated in five gallon pots on the woodstove—for bathing and dish washing.

We’ve happily lived in a lot of places without electricity or running water, or both, but it makes all the difference to have systems that work. We were able to cope this time just fine, but there were some ways we were unprepared that I’d like to remedy. Our water being the biggest and most obvious. In the past we’ve always had gravity fed water, and now it feels crazy to have to use electricity to get water into our house. I’m not sure what the answer is, but we are looking into it!

We’re also thinking a very small, very simple photovoltaic system for lights. We were lucky that I hoard candles, buying them whenever I find them cheap, because the stores were sold out very quickly. But candlelight, while being pretty and atmospheric has some limitations. Trying to cook supper by candlelight was a real pain, and reading just wasn’t really possible for my forty-four-year-old eyes. We went out a bought a Coleman fluorescent lantern, which helped immensely with trying to cook after dark, though it turned out that the LED headlamp I got for Christmas was the best for that. The girls said I looked like a miner, toiling away in my dark little pit of a kitchen!

So the power was out for five days, on again for two, and off and on yesterday. We’re so much more aware of how dependent we are on electricity, and we’re also all thinking of ways to be less dependent.

I should also say it was very special celebrating the Solstice by candlelight. It really made us aware of just how dark the dark of the year is!

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