The summer was full of perfect days, very little rain. Still, Lily has become a weather fanatic, watching radar and maps, paying attention to what animals and water and the wind does too. We have a fantastic southern view of the horizon, from east to west. She will sit and work on art while watching the storms roll in. Holly will watch too, but her interest lies in the planes and other sky craft that fly low when the storms move in. Isaac just stands at the window looking forlorn and sad about not going outside. His favourite place in a rain storm is at the tree fort under the shade canopy with his sisters.
The thing she is most excited about is packing the emergency bags. She loves packing. Loves packing for overnight, for going on a day trip, her fishing kit, her art bags.....organising and choosing items, getting it all to fit, just so.
Here is what she came up with when I asked her to pack what she thought we would need, no prompting:
First aid kit
Activity books
Diapers and wipes for Isaac
apples and mason jars full of cold water
a box of crackers
markers
our travel connect 4
head lamp flashlights
empty mason jars filled with tea lights and a lighter
2 blankets or towels
dvd player and charger
weather radio (is actually a walkie talkie with a weather radio built in. It picks up signal from others in the area too, so if we needed to call for help and the cell phone doesn't work, we have this method of signal too and....fresh batteries for it, taped too it, will be a good idea...must remember this)
phone charger (that's where the missing one is, Chad)
Compacted into two bags and set by the basement door.
We have not ever had to use them though. The summer before we bought the farmhouse a straight-line wind storm imploded the stone barn and took out several over out buildings. An architectural tragedy befell the farm. The ice house was a rare gem, now gone. Since then though, no severe storms or tornadoes have dared near our farm. Wind, yes. Rain, snow, ice, yes....but nothing that requires grabbing an emergency bag and hiding in the basement. We have not even had more than a power flicker since we've been on the farm. Our old neighbourhood still has days of power outages in the city....affecting those same neighbours that had warned us to expect worse in the rural landscape.
If that ever does happen, Lily is ready.
What's in your emergency, head to the basement bag?
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A blog about farming, unschooling, feminism, 22q deletion syndrome, cooking real food, homesteading, permaculture, and motherhood.