In my over 15 years in the country, I’ve never had a generator, wanted one, or even seen one work.
I always thought of them as an indulgence I didn’t need; they seemed loud, expensive, and cumbersome. The power rarely went out for more than six or seven hours where I lived, and I was proud of my ability to care for myself during those first six years on a farm.
The cold never bothered me, and neither did the wind or snow.
Rose and I could deal with almost anything, and I loved that about the experience. Today was an eye-opener. Our new but never used generator saved the day for us.
Maria can also deal with almost anything, much more than any dog, but I can’t. One thing I have lost about living up here on a farm is my fearlessness. I love the farm, but storms like this frighten me and often trigger some anxiety.
This was perhaps the nastiest and most serious storm I could remember dealing with in my time here. I think the generator may have been, along with our solar panel, the best investment we have made in our farm. And in our lives and in my sense of peace and well-being.
Two years ago, I reluctantly changed my mind about generators. Today I was very grateful for that change.
The bad storms were getting uglier and more frequent, the outages were getting longer, and I am getting older. So with Maria’s blessings, we bought a perfect portable generator; it cost nearly $3,000 plus hundreds to install the boxes and connections necessary. We passed on the high-end ones, which cost twice as much and came on automatically when the power went out.
Maria has the confidence and fearlessness that I had, but I hate watching her work so hard while I come out with my cane to take photos and shovel.
The generator today was a great helper like I once was.
We didn’t need to do a thing but turn it out and flip a few switches.
We keep ours in the barn and must haul it out when necessary.
We haven’t had to use our generator once in these past two years, the storms were getting worse, but the winters were getting miler. That changed this week, and especially this morning.
We are still in the grip of a relentless northeastern; tree limbs are falling everywhere. The power is likely to go off again. We don’t really care. Our generator is right outside the back door and we can do everything we usually do.
I feel more vulnerable to destructive storms now than I did.
I can’t do much shoveling or afford to fall, which I used to do with reckless abandon; I have medications that need refrigerating, and I am much more connected to the Internet through my blog and my work with the Army Of Good.
I don’t like being cut off from my work and the people who depend on me for one thing or another.
We were interested in seeing how this would work in the storm. We were surprised and delighted to see how well it did work, and frankly, we were surprised.
It’s heavy, and hauling it out of the barn wasn’t easy. And we had to call our all-purpose handyman Mike Conklin who came over immediately to remind us how to turn it on and off. We had forgotten.
He got here just in time.
The storm frightened the animals, who were restless and anxious all night and day, and me. I can’t recall a more menacing one. Or perhaps I’m just more wary and vulnerable.
Once we got it on (Maria is great at this stuff, she wrote it all down. It provided power to the kitchen, the lights we needed, the water heater. Water is a huge problem when there are thirsty dogs, donkeys, and sheep. I can cook, read, eat, and now, blog.
We were anticipating a day of hauling water to the bathroom and barm from a pond way down the hill to sitting before the wood stove in the dark, unable to read quickly, go online, or cook food. I was worried about.
The generator took all those worries away; we could have lived happily for a week or more if the electricity had stayed out for a long time, as it is happening more and more nationwide and here.
We had a relaxing, pleasant morning. We were warm and at ease.
I wrote, meditated, and went outside to shovel and clean up the cars; I couldn’t use the computer because the cable company had also had an outage. Nothing we could do about that was read, talk, and have some tea.
Six hours later, the power returned (it may go off tonight), and then the cable was restored.
I’m puzzled about my stubbornness and reluctance to get one. It feels sometimes that I am always learning the practical lessons many other people know. I like learning, and I love changing.
Still…
This generator makes me feel a lot safer and also much more comfortable. It washes my anxiety away.
Getting old is sobering in many ways, and I was slow to grasp the need for a secondary power source. Climate change is real and it is changing our lives.
Our generator runs for 10 to 12 hours on a whole can of fuel. It is quiet and generates little smoke.
Our Generator. We’re keeping it near the house tonight.
But I recall that at the first Bedlam Farm, I was quite full of myself and reveled in navigating ice, blizzards, coyotes, and loneliness.
I’m not so cocky anymore, partly because I’m getting older and partly because my spiritual life has blossomed and grown.
My work with the Army Of Good has softened and mellowed me. It is priceless to me. I need to be in touch with it to make it work. And I dearly love taking pictures and sharing them.
Taking care of oneself is not a sign of weakness. Neither is doing good rather than fighting about it.
I am learning new things all the time and accepting things I resisted.
Hubris is a compelling emotion, especially in willful men. Maria and I have been talking all day about what a good idea this generator is and how it has removed one of my primary fears about living on a farm in Upstate New York. We have more outages in the summer than in the winter here, although that may change.
Either way, I’m grateful to have this generator. And happy to acknowledge it.
Hopefully, I’ll be online tomorrow. Stay safe and warm.
Generators are so necessary with livestock & well water!
Amazingly, in all the atmospheric rivers N. California has had this year we’ve never lost power…we’re in the midst of another today!
Stay safe Jon & Maria!!!
We had a power outage for a week here during bitter cold. That meant no water and no heat in very cold weather. It was a survival event that took all day every day to care for animals. I had a generator but I still had to haul water and it can’t run the heat system, stove, microwave, or the hot water heater. After that week I got an electrician to make a line for plugging it into the breaker box. Now the well will work and I can have lights, TV, internet and refrigeration. I can run propane heaters on bottled propane for heating. I have a fireplace but to keep it running I had to get up every 2 to 3 hours to feed it and it still didn’t touch the cold. After the storm I purchased a larger propane heater to use if the power goes out again. It is sad we can’t have hot water or cooking but the smaller generator is not able to do that. Just having water so I don’t have to go miles away to bring home buckets in the back of the truck takes a huge weight off. That whole event was epic for me. Every day was a survival event. I tore a muscle in my arm during that time and all the wood and water carrying didn’t help it heal. I did what I could to make things easier if it happens again. I’m older and alone in the country. I think you were very smart to have a larger unit to use.
Jon, Blessings to you & yours (human & farmyard variety) to make it safely through this event.
I share your outlook. I used to be fearless but now appreciate the benefit of a little help (as we “mature “)
Wisdom comes with “maturity” (I hope)
When my late husband and I lived on a small farm within a national forest in North Idaho, he insisted on installing a generator. Being a power plant operator he bought a great big one to power the well pump to have water for the cattle and horse, the lights in all the buildings including the barns, shop, and cottage my mother lived in. It came on once a week and exercised itself. It also would automatically turn itself on when the power went off. We used it for a few hours at a time in the winters. One winter we received 180 inches of snow in three weeks and downed trees knocked out the power. However the longest time we used it was in the summer for an entire week. My husband would turn it off at night, but each morning he fired it back on and a line of neighbors showed up to get water for themselves and their livestock and pets. It was very expensive to install and I wouldn’t have bought such a sophisticated piece of equipment on my own. But I was grateful for it. I’m so glad you have a generator that you can easily and safely operate. Lights and water can mean so much at such times. Take care.
I’m so glad you got the generator! Thank for letting us know you are all safe.
I’ve said many many times that the automatic generator that I invested in shortly after building my dream home on a lake in the Southern Adirondacks has been worth every penny. I too am prone to anxiety (and am aging); the difference between comfortably watching the storm from a powered warm home and fretting about being cold, pipes freezing, etc with no means of communicating (can’t count on cell service here) is immeasurable. Glad that Bedlam farm can also be comfortable in the storm.
My in-laws suffered, for 40 plus years, sick with worry that when it stormed, and they’d lose power, and they would have no working sump pump and their basement would flood. Which it did many, many times, once so bad the entire basement had to be gutted and remodeled. My Hubs had pleaded with them for years to get a generator, ANY kind, so that this wouldn’t happen. His Dad just wouldn’t do it, he absolutely refused! Once they were into their 80’s, my Hubs told them, that’s it, you’re getting one, and arranged for an automatic one to be installed. Pricey, about 10G’s. But oh my, the peace they had once it was installed! They could rest easy, and sleep through storms. The money couldn’t have been the only deterrent, they had the money. I think it’s this staunch, rugged individualism that gets in the way of sanity. “I’ve got this, I can do it, I don’t need help” kind of thinking that can cause much heartache. As they aged, they needed help, and more of it each year. Gradually, reluctantly, they accepted the help because they simply could not do the work around the house any more. Forced to ask for help, is only when they would ask for it. Something for all of us to think about.
We started out with one of those pull start generators. The gas terrified me, it was so noisy, and I was never able to pull it to start it. I just never had that strength. I decided to get a Generac 4 years ago. Yes, it was expensive but I am extremely happy with it. I don’t need my page of directions to get it going and I don’t have to worry about how to get it started. When we have storms, I’m not up all night watching for the power to go out. Yes, it makes life so much more comfortable and anxiety-free at my age. One of my better decisions in life..
I hear you on the generator thing. We broke down and purchased a small generator, which we keep in our garage, several years ago. We’ve only used it a few times since then, but it’s priceless when needed…especially for those of us country folks who rely on water from a well. Glad you and Maria made it through okay. So did we, here in CT, with less of a storm – only 4-5 inches overnight.
I just finished my pile of 6 books of your which my daughter gifted me for Christmas 2022.
I must say I was very very sad when I finished the last one. “What will I do now with no Jon Katz to read?” Well i actually survived now for a few days and I think I’ll make it. LOVE LOVE LOVE your writing.
Can’t wait to get your latest book. Keep up the good works.
I’m older and we get less and less snow in Wisconsin but the storms are more violent. Maybe a generator is a good idea for everyone no matter where you live. We just had to replace the roof as did most of our neighbors because of a bad hail storm. Two weeks ago we had to drive home from a doctor’s visit in the strangest ice and snow storm I’ve ever witnessed. Look at those poor souls in California dying in their homes. Perhaps generators would have prevented those deaths. My Mom used to say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.