'A Winter to Remember' or 'Why we are Prepared'

This winter has been one of the ones people will talk about for years - remember the winter of 16-17?

I do understand that I do not live in Siberia or Alaska or the Yukon.  That is precisely why this winter is memorable, if I lived in one of those places I would expect this!  For the record (and it is a record) this is the most snow we have had in December/January since 1892.  Our average snowfall in a season is 18.5 inches, so far in January alone we have had 19.6 inches!  In the period between December 7th and today, January 24 we have had 32 inches of snow!!  Some of the passes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California have 20 feet of snow! 

This is Donner Pass near Lake Tahoe on 1/13/2017. This pass is named for the wagon train that was trapped here for a winter in 1846 and turned to cannibalism to survive.

The cats have been looking for dry places to hang out till spring.  They do not like squatting in the snow!

Set my phone on the porch so I could show the snow up to or a little above the level of the decking - about 2 feet.

We uncovered the cars, and then we uncovered the cars and then...you get the picture. 

Hubby was walking on the ice, slipped, fell and broke two ribs.  He is in misery and now I am doing the things he normally does....like uncover the cars!  ;)

This stalactite was a monster, but the snow is pretty - if you can stay home, and that brings me to this point.  This is why it is recommended to have at least 3 to 7 days of food, and water stored.  We have quite a lot of food storage, we did not have to go out.  We had water stored - since we are on a private well if we lose power we lose water. (We could have boiled snow on the wood stove to get water and purify it) 

Whether it is earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or record snow fall, being prepared kept us from having to get out on the roads where they had so many accidents due to ice and snow.

Somewhere along the line people began to make fun of the "preppers" who were planning for the end of the world and post apocalyptic survival, but it really is just this sort of thing that is the most likely to happen. 

We ate canned and frozen food and only went out on the days the roads were clear.  We had wood piled on the porch so we didn't have to go out to the barn if the weather was bad.  It is supposed to be dry for the next week but bone chilling cold and we will be glad for the wood sitting there.  On the days we went out, we planned for maximum errands in minimum time and travel and we felt fortunate to get home each time safe and sound.  Being prepared has allowed me to do fairly well with hubby laid up, I am able to keep the house warm and have meals due to the preparations that were made before the event.

It is just a suggestion - but planning for disaster doesn't hurt, and if it never happens you are ok - you can always eat the food at a time when you run out of money before you run out of month!