As the eighth inch of snow hit the ground on Thursday evening, the electric line snapped and fell into the yard.  Out went our power.

Our first step, in the dwindling evening light, was to assess our power stores.  Laptops were shut down, then Mark assembled all of our rechargeable batteries and lights.  Unlike our last major power outage, we now both have high quality solar flashlights, and Mark had several fully-charged drill batteries that go with a fluorescent light.  We even have candles from friends.  But we still hadn't gotten our solar panels hooked up, and we don't have candlesticks.

For that first night, light was all we needed.  Wood stoves ensured we stayed warm, and the fridge and freezer would stand one night unopened.  More on phase two of our power outage adventure in another post.