Notes from Maine - 2024/04/07

The power is out. If I had to guess, it’s going to be out for several days. A weird spring snowstorm clobbered us with a wet, heavy mess and it took down trees everywhere. One of the trees hit my house. I was tying my shoes at the time. Albert jumped up and tilted his head at the sound, ready to bark his face off. I only sighed. In the same moment that he decided the sound was nothing to worry about, I was deciding that it was definitely something to worry about.

We were both right.

The tree didn’t have an effect on the dogs, but it took me the whole morning to address. I had to break out the chainsaw and cut up the tree so I could remove it from the roof. It left a couple of holes in the metal roof over the attic. I’ll seal up the wholes the best I can, but I’ll have to move up my plans to replace that section of roof.

At least I didn’t cut off a hand while I was using the chainsaw. A big part of the trunk shifted while I was cutting and I pictured it rolling over to crush my leg. It didn’t. I got away with my cleanup. After that, I had to drive three towns away to find an open gas station. This whole area was dark. Next year I’ll be complaining about how Central Maine Power is passing along more storm damage to the customers. It only bothers me because they’re extracting so much profit from the situation. One might think that repairing storm damage falls under “expenses that need to be covered before profit can be extracted.” According to CMP and the Public Utilities Commission, one would be wrong.

With the gas secured, I was able to fire up a generator. I need to run it if I want frivolous things like heat and water. It’s off at the moment. Everything is quiet. After the dogs eat dinner I’ll probably run it again so I can take a shower and then put the horses to bed. Maybe that order should be swapped. 

After a winter without snow, it’s strange to see two heavy storms like this. Last week Portland was affected. This week it seems like the whole state is getting the business.

I’m writing this on Thursday and I wonder if I’ll have internet to post it on Sunday. If you’re reading this, maybe I did.

Fortunately, I have a good book to read and enough light to read by. Could be much worse. One year when Mom was here we lost power for a week. By the fourth day we were using headlamps to work on a jigsaw puzzle. There was nothing better to do once it got dark. When I lived a little farther north we lost power for 15 days during the “Ice Storm of 98.” Our next power bill was the usual amount with a little asterisk next to the number of kWH and a note that said, “Estimated Usage.” One would think that eventually we would have received a bill for half of the typical amount because of the two-week outage. According to CMP, one would be wrong.

I bought ten gallons of gas when I finally found a gas station that was open. I believe that will last for a few days of sporadic generator use. We’ll see. I just need enough heat so the pipes don’t freeze and enough water for the horses and dogs. The refrigerator is still in the laundry room so I had to run an extension cord from the kitchen. When this house was a nursing home they had a few essential appliances hooked up to the generator feed. Heat, water, hallway lights, fridge, and freezer come to life whenever I start the generator. That’s enough for anyone. 

While it’s still daylight I’ll go back into the attic to see the holes again. I might have caused a little more damage when I was extracting the fallen tree. I hope not, but better to find out now. My arms are sore. Tomorrow morning is going to be cold.

* * *

I went back into the attic. There are three golf-ball sized holes in the metal roof and one small one. I had to prop a ladder up outside because one branch was still lodged in a hole. I kept thinking about movies where someone gets a knife or an arrow stuck in their chest. You’re supposed to leave the penetrating object in place until you’re ready to treat the wound for fear that removing it will unleash more blood flow. As I yanked the branch from the metal I worried that my house’s essence would pour forth. More realistically, I worried that I would be letting more rain and snow in. Everything was wet, but I did my best to flash the holes so that rain would tend to stay out. Then I propped a big bucket underneath the worst of the damage.

The insurance company was nice over the phone. I’ve never made a claim on my homeowner’s policy before. It’s just an address that I send money to every month—I never expected to contact them for any other reason. 

“Have you been able to contact anyone about removing the tree from the roof?” they asked.

“I was able to contact my chainsaw. That seemed to work pretty well,” I said. We laughed.

* * *

The power came back a mere 30 hours after it went away. I expected much worse. I hauled the generator back to the garage and tucked it away. I have to remember to change the oil next month. I’ll put it on my calendar now. Aside from not having enough gasoline on hand, I was prepared this time. The generator had fresh oil and was tuned up so that it ran well. If I get my service panel replaced as part of my kitchen remodel, I think I’ll move the generator hookup to the driveway side of the house. If I make things convenient enough, I should guarantee that I never lose power again.

Aside from the roof, I suppose we’re back to normal. Pessimism tells me that repairing the roof is going to land on my shoulders. Somewhere along the way insurance companies realized that they could maximize profits by finding creative ways to avoid paying claims. If I had to guess, I’m betting that the estimated cost of fixing the roof will come in just a few dollars shy of my deductible. I like to be pessimistic when being proven wrong will be a pleasant surprise.