New Orleans Lite - or if FEMA Was on the Ball

As my Mom used to say, 'it's all over but the shouting'.

Tuesday I stayed home from work - a brilliant move if I say so myself. Early in the morning the SMUD trucks lined the street in front of my house.

Knock, knock. Who's there? SMUD!

A friendly guy from SMUD told me my electrical lines were pulled right out out of the roof and - no surprises here - SMUD could only work the power lines and couldn't touch my house. So, I would have to call an electrician.

I had a friend from work call around for an electrician for me because my cell phone was due for a charge and I had no way to charge it unless I either charged it while driving my car, or GASP asked a neighbor to let me charge it on their line - like that's ever going to happen. Chris called three electricians, all three promised to call me and only one did. He and an assistant made it over to my place around 3 o'clock.

I was stunned how much money I had to shell out, which included having county guy come out to ok the electrician's work before SMUD was allowed to reconnect my house. The SMUD crews worked all day long and a little after 5 o'clock I was back on the meter good to go - except - the Internet was down. WAH! I was off line from Monday night until this afternoon.

The SMUD guys were a hard working and cheery lot. They worked in teams up and down the block, replacing downed poles and climbing up to work on &/or replace the transformers. Although the sun was shining like a sonofagun there were impressive claps of thunder but it wasn't even raining! Really bizarre weather. With each blast of thunder the SMUD guys up and down the block cheered their approval of Mum Nature's might. Cool.

There are 4 men on this pole!
Look for the hard hats - Believe it or not!

Getting the Internet back up took most the day because those lines were also torn from my house. When the pole lines were back up another cable guy came to hook me up in the house. He told me my Internet lines were all squirrel chewed & he replaced all the lines, right up to my house.

So although the loss of the Old oak tree is still a bit traumatic for me, it did bring about some good. I got all new, and likely more dependable Internet lines, and while I had the electricians out I had them do a fair bit of work in the garage, including putting up new dusk to dawn lights on the garage for safety. So another old saying comes to mind - no great harm without some small good.

Grandmother Oak

Another view of the Oak taken Monday afternoon before
the tree went down There is a Magpie sitting on the fence

In my last post I was ecstatic at the return of the Yellow-billed Magpies. I took that picture early Monday afternoon and little did I know that was the start of a a fair bit of hoopla.

The weather was pouring rain on and off on Monday. Around 8PM and I heard something weird - the windows rattling and the wind blowing. The house lights and my computer started flickering and then died; I leapt up and charged for the big picture window just in time to see a bolt of what I thought was lightning, completely visible through the closed blinds - the jagged lightning was that bright! What I saw was not lightning; it was the power transformer exploding all over my backyard.

I totally freaked. Ran to the back of the house for a look see though a window. I could see the power line (visible in Monday's post with the Magpie on it) was hanging several feet lower. Nor in my shock did I then notice the brunt of what had happened.

As I stared excitedly out the back window, neighbors, came out, their high beams shining on the powerline. That gave me the willies - obviously have seen too many alien movies like The Signs and War of the Worlds - yes, I know I'm pathetic.

I heard a raps at the front door & fumbled my way to the front of the house. It was one of my neighbors whose home is across the street; he still had power. He dropped by to warn me not to go in my back yard because there were power lines down - no kidding?

I think my neighbor's name is Bob and he is very nice - has Plain Titmouses nesting in his back yard most years - a fellow nature lover. Anyway, I probably only talk to him once every 2 or 3 years. I am like a vampire for all my neighbors see of me; sneaking in and out of my garage under cover of darkness. Anyway, it was pointed out to me that the old oak was down; I had been so excited I hadn't even noticed! When I went to look out my back windows again I realized the fence line seemed so naked. How could I have not noticed that beautiful and humongous tree was gone?

Bottom line: the power was out on every home on my block - maybe some dozen residences. When the old oak fell onto the fence line she wasn't going alone - there was a domino effect - as the oak tumbled over it ripped power and phone lines from homes and pulled over several poles and trees. Oddly enough the tree did not take the powerline pole by my yard; the one the oak stood next to for so many years. The tree tumbled down onto the fence line to the north - right down the middle between neighbor's homes, completely avoiding damage to any houses. For my part, my fences were left untouched, but my electrical lines were ripped right out of my roof, and they lay strewn around my back yard. The Telephone line was still connected but it hung several feet lower than normal. Eeek.

An hour later I was stretched out on my bed reading by candlelight. At 1 o'clock AM chain saws growled away at the fallen oak like a pack of wolves. The chain saws were still going at 3 AM.

Return of the Magpies

Hurrah! Had a couple of Yellow-billed Magpies in my yard today, as well as a small group of Northern Flickers who love digging for ants and other bugs on the ground. I haven't seen Yellow-bills in a long time and had worried they might have all been killed off by West Nile Virus.

It's a rainy day but what the hell - I planned indoor stuff anyway.

See eensie Yellow-billed Magpie on phone line? Hurrah, noisey birdie neighbors are back! Click pic to see enlarged photo.