Slipping and Sliding
LeAnn posted this blog on Sunday, November 21st, 2010 at 10:52 pm
I knew it wasn’t going to be good when I went out to check on the horses Saturday evening before going to sleep. Already there was freezing rain and a fine coating of ice on the fence around Isabelle’s pasture.
Sure enough, when I got up Sunday morning at 6 a.m. to feed the kittens, everything was coated in a shiny layer of ice — the porch, the driveway, the grass, the road.
The only way I could get out of the house without killing myself was to climb over the porch railing and get down to the ground that way. I didn’t dare try to walk on the porch boards. Under the eaves where the freezing rain had not hit it wasn’t so bad, and from there, I could make my way to the grass.
Walking on the grass wasn’t too bad, but when I finally reached the road, I could see that there was a good thick coating of ice on the blacktop.
I had planned to get the kittens up and let them eat and play, and then while they played some more, get ready for church. I leave them out in the living room by themselves for an hour at a time when I feed the horses, so I figured I could leave them out while I went to church for an hour.
Except — once I got outside, I knew I wasn’t going anywhere Sunday. Before I could even attempt to drive, I knew my truck would have to run for a long while to warm up enough to melt some of the ice off the windows. But then the next challenge would be driving, and I knew I wasn’t going to even get out of the driveway.
A little while after I got back inside the house, the president of our church council called and said church was canceled because of the ice.
My husband went over to his mom and dad’s for the opening weekend of deer season, and when he called Sunday afternoon, I advised him not to try to drive across the state.
Gradually during the afternoon, the weather warmed up enough so that when it rained, it didn’t freeze on, and by night, most of the ice was melted off the porch and the driveway. I don’t know what the road is like because I haven’t gone anywhere. I don’t think the township has been by yet with salt-sand.
As for the six little kittens — they have learned to use the litter box! And they are beginning to eat more on their own! And they are playing and biting each other so that every once in a while I hear a high-pitched yelp of protest from one of them. And they purr like crazy when they are curled up in my lap. About the only time they are not happy is when it is time for their amoxicillan. They make awful faces and try to get away. I don’t blame them. But at least they all seem to be feeling better, if their energy level is any indication. They will be finished with the amoxicillan on Wednesday. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph
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