Do you know what a power outage looks like in my neck of the woods?

First of all, keep in mind that I live in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In my town, there are three times as many horses as people. The ratio of big trees (by that I mean 60 feet plus oaks, maples, and beeches, among many others) to horses is about 5,000 to 1, and I am being generous with that assessment. How is that for minority rule? 

Now the power lines are hung the old-fashioned way, loosely from pole to pole, the poles mostly made of wood. In heavily wooded areas, these are strung willy-nilly through fields, forests, and mountains, or wherever power is needed. Power outages here, especially during stormy weather, are not uncommon. What's more, it can take a while until you can locate where the power outage originated. If you're lucky, it may be a short drive or hike away. Worst case is, you hike for hours. But then again, the power companies are aware of these things, so I'm sure they can quickly locate where the line went dead. 

A power outage here is easy as pie. This isn't a power outage caused by overload, unlike the great blackout of New York I wrote about a few posts back, but simply the result of a fallen tree branch. The tree branch doesn't have to be that big, either. In fact, I recall a tree branch from one of our water oaks crashing down from 30 feet up, a branch as long as a surfboard and with the circumference of a small plate. With the height, though, the branch was able to completely annihilate one of our garden chairs made of massive wood. Very impressive. In the end, I couldn't tell what was the branch and what was the chair.

The snap of a tree branch makes quite a racket. You will feel a long crrrrraaaack, followed by a swish - usually a branch working its way through and past other branches, followed by a big thump if the branch lands on grass, or a crash if it hits anything more solid, as in pavement, or a house or vehicle. If it hits a power line, the sound will be more stifled, although only marginally. Now what happens when an entire tree comes tumbling down? That's the sound I imagine a big dinosaur would make after suffering from a heart attack. This can be caused by erosion or lightning. Either way, the sound puts your own size in this world into proper perspective. 

In our neighborhood, a power outage goes like this. The crack or explosion, followed by the tree or branch coming down, then the power going out. Simple as that. Then our heavily wooded area really becomes dark, as if it wasn't dark enough already. People shrug their shoulders, reach for the torch, and investigate. Just me, or the whole neighborhood? Then come the text messages or phone calls. Do you have power over there? 

The last power outage was fixed in less than five hours, and I am still amazed by how quickly the power company was able to assemble a crew at three in the morning. Turns out it was a tree that was finally uprooted due to its odd angle. Luckily this happened at night, although it did block the access road to the main highway that takes people into town and beyond. 

A power outage is a blip on the radar in the city...in our area, it is a force of nature and a reminder of how fickle civilization can sometimes be in these parts.