We’re still here. We even have power, for the moment.
So far, Sandy has been more or less as advertised. The winds are noticeably stronger now with some serious gusts as well, probably consistent in th 30mph range with gusts above 40. The rain started falling early in the afternoon, but it hasn’t been torrential. Just a steady, wind-driven rain that’s a bit cold.
A friend came over and I helped him take that tree down that the beaver had attacked. We were both drenched by the end of the operation because we ended up out there right when the rain started to come in steady. It was actually pretty cool. He anchored it with a come-along and a chain to another tree to help guide it’s fall, then he cut a wedge out on the side we wanted it to fall. Finally, he cut straight into it from the other side and then we hammered wedges into the cut to push it over. It fell right where we wanted it.
The diciest moment came after he cut the wedge. The wind really kicked in at that point and we just kept our fingers crossed that it wouldn’t be enough to start the tree going in a direction we didn’t want. Fortunately, it held.
Now I’ve got more firewood.
So at this point, we’re within an hour or so of Sandy making landfall in Southern New Jersey. If we can make it through the next several hours, then there’s a decent chance we make it without power loss. We know there are a lot of people around without power at this point- the Wife’s parents lost power in RI and we have friends closer to RI that have already lost power. We’ve also heard of other people in town here who have already lost power.
The kids are managing OK for the moment. The lass was complaining about an upset stomach, which we’re thinking might be more nerve related than anything.
Power starting to flicker. Time to go.