Day Two

The power was still out when I woke up this morning.  The bathroom stinks.  The toilet needs to be flushed.

It's hunting season.  I stumble in the dark to gather my things for moose hunt.  Everyone else is still sleeping.  Except maybe Husband, who hasn't made it home yet.  I turn my phone on to see if it has service, but no luck.  I shut it back off.  With my guns and pack I head out the door.  Smitty meets me at my quad.  He's my hunting buddy.  We head off into the woods.

We're almost at my chosen moose spot when I spot a partridge.  If I shoot it it'll frighten off any moose headed into the area.  The temptation is too much to resist though.  It's been a busy fall, and I've only been out bird hunting twice.  I shoot the bird.  I clean it, take the breast and the legs, and Smitty gets the rest for breakfast.

We head further up the road, and spot another two birds.  He doesn't finish his share of them, so I toss them on the back of the quad for the dogs at home.

A bit deeper into the bush, and I see I've disturbed two other hunters.  It's getting bright, and it's going to be harder to find a quiet spot for moose.  The idea is to get in quietly in the early morning and hunker down before they head to their resting places.  They sleep through the day.  I decide I might as well just make it a bird day.  I let the other hunters get a bit ahead of me- if they disturb any birds, I want them settled again when I go by.

We're out riding for a couple of hours, and I get my limit of 5 birds.  I head home.  I run into my brother and sister-in-law on the way back.  They're up for the week visiting and moose hunting.  They have a camp set up on the edge of my property.  They're on their way out for birds.

I get home and toss the remains of the birds to all of the dogs, then take the meat and my stuff in the house.  Cleaning the birds without running water is a pain.  Luckily I have pop bottles full of water stored in the basement for times like this.  Still, it's not the same as turning on the tap.  I put the birds in the freezer.  They won't freeze with the power off, but they should keep a couple of days.

The boys are up when I get back, and have already done chores, brought in water from the rain barrel to flush the toilet with, and put away clean dishes.  They made sandwiches for breakfast, since the toaster 'wasn't working'.  Sometimes kids say the funniest things.  Yesterday's laundry still needs to be hung on the clothesline, and I send #4 to do that.

It's a quiet afternoon.  Grandma stops by to see how we're doing, and invites everyone for supper.  It's Thanksgiving, and we're having a pot of chili.  That's normal for us- we don't do a big turkey meal during opening week of moose season.  Dad's got his generator running, but the truck still won't start.  I try the car, and it won't start either.  I check my phone again, still no service.  Grandma had the radio on earlier, but there's only one station that comes in at all in our area, and it's mostly static.  She thinks they were saying that the blackout is across the country, and into the states.  It could be awhile before we have electricity back on.

I go for a nap, and the boys play cards.  #3 is getting rowdy from computer withdrawal.  He's such an addict.  When I get back up I tidy up the kitchen.  The dishes are stacking up.  I don't know if there's enough water in the rain barrels for another day of chores and toilet, as well as washing dishes.  I don't want to use the bottled water from the basement, we might need it for drinking.  I send the Littles out to the recycling to find extra pop bottles.  We can fill them at the spring at Grandma and Grandpa's.

We head over shortly afterwards, and the boys fill the pop bottles before supper.  Brother and sil need water, too, so I give them a couple of bottles.  We have a nice meal together, and play cards for a while after.  I check my phone again, but still nothing.  I have no idea where Husband is, or how he's doing.  I can't imagine that there'd be many restaurants open with the power out, and if the car won't run he's got to be getting frustrated.

Back at home, I read until bed.  The boys are still mostly content with their cards, although they are starting to get loud, whiny, and cranky with each other.  If the power's still out tomorrow I'll have to find something more constructive for them to put their energy into.