On Saturday evening the farm lost power due to a wind storm. Our farm is located in an area of New York State that is not very densely populated and so we often loose power and it can take longer than expected to get electricity back. But like so many things, it is difficult to appreciate what you have until you loose it. We have two walk-in freezers, one walk-in cooler, a custom butcher shop that needs electricity to run the meat grinder, band saw and such, a display freezer in the farm store, and of course a well pump to bring water to all the thirsty animals.
We have had a number of small generators on the farm to help when the power goes out. Unfortunately our most recent generator is broken and could not help us this time around. As with any power outage, there is always a period of waiting…the power company is often optimistic and will estimate power to be restored in a few hours. So we wait. In the cooler weather of the late fall the freezers can hold their temperatures much longer than during the summer. Luckily for us we were able to borrow a generator from Racey’s Dad and Stepmom who happened to be out of town and live just down the road. But even with their generator we could only run one thing at a time, and so began what I like to call the generator shuffle or would the “electric slide” be more appropriate? It’s not as graceful a dance as the name might suggest, it is an awkward kerfuffle of lugging a generator from the well, to the farm store freezer, and round again.
For me personally this power outage was different because I was not on the farm, not in the country or even the same time zone. I feel valuable and important when a well thought-out plan is executed. When the power went out, and the freezer temps started to rise I had no plan in place to keep things running. I realized how lost I felt without the control of knowing and doing. Like a fist that is clenched around a sharp object, slowly I let go. I focused on the love and trust I have for the people that were on the farm and figured it out.
In the end, every thing stayed frozen, animals got water and the power eventually came back on. Thank you to Chad and Gwen for managing all things and for dancing the generator shuffle. Thank you Holly for your diligence and communication, for checking on things. Thank you to John and Katherine for the generous use of their own personal generator. And thank you Matt for your help and communication as well.
Thank you to the customers who were expecting their orders on time last week, and had to wait a few days. Without power we did not want to go in and out of the freezers, and we could not turn on the computers, or print shipping labels. Thank you for your patience.
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