What’s a Blogger To Do When the Power Goes Out?

Tuesday morning was lovely – bright, sunny, and warm. By noon, clouds darkened the sky. By two, the ominous threat of a thunderstorm hung overhead. By two-thirty rain poured from the sky in sheets, lightning flickered in the dim daylight, and thunder shook the earth.

A little after three-thirty, my computer signaled the near end of battery power. This struck me as odd since I had plugged in my computer again, once the storm had passed. I glanced toward the clock on the oven and the panel was black. The house had no power – and apparently hadn’t for some time.

I shut down my computer and decided to attend a networking meeting since I couldn’t work. (I’m a writer and editor, and I build websites for small businesses, so using my computer is key to my work.)

As I began my drive out the driveway, I saw a huge turtle on the path to the pond!!! It was walking, raised some inches from the ground, as you see above. I put the car in reverse, parked it, hurried into the house for my camera, and ran toward the pond. These photos show an ancient snapper, the shell of which was about fifteen inches across. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Note the claws as it stares down my camera.

Here, see the dinosaur-like spikes on the tail.

Almost home!
After shooting no less than two dozen pictures of the turtle, I drove out my driveway, and as the police directed me to a detour, they allow me to stop and take pictures of the cause of the power outage. Looking at this wreckage, I suppose I should have known it would be a while before I’d be able to post the pictures to this blog. The power did not return till early the following morning.

If you read my first post to this blog, you’ll understand that the pond has been a silver-lining in my life – hence, its name. There are times when an out of place occurrence will deliver an unexpected and pleasant surprise, a silver-lining. My seeing the turtle this week is such an occasion. Had the power not gone out, I’d have not left the house, and I would have missed the turtle’s migration to the pond. I also wonder if something about the torrential rain, caused the snapper to be where I’ve never seen it before – despite my walking the path a slew of times during the past year and a half.

And, I will admit, that passing the evening, reading by candlelight, was a wonderful change of pace, as generally, I work through the evening. So, again, a silver-lining.

I’ve spent the last two days catching up on work. But here, finally, is the task I’ve been anxious to get to – the posting of these turtle pictures.

Leave a comment