Snow Disaster!

This was the scene this morning behind our house, toward the large new house nearing completion.

The wonderful large oak between the houses lost at least a dozen large branches last night. They succumbed to the heavy, very wet snow that fell--ten inches (25 cm) by my estimate. And hundreds of thousand of households lost power as falling branches brought down electrical lines. I heard that transformers exploded--it's unclear, because we not only have no power and no heat, but also no internet, no TV and no telephone (only a basic cell phone, and the few people we reach are in the dark as well).

As I write this has gone on for 24 hours (9 pm Sunday), and we hear that it could be days before power is restored. No clear news. The temperature was in the forties today (7-8 C), but it will be well below freezing tonight. We are marshalling all our blankets! FYI: I am posting from the local Stop & Shop supermarket--only partial power, but free internet--bless their souls!