[AT] Ice storm in OK

[Cecil R Bearden]

Back online after a few days of no internet and almost no 
electricity.    The old ONAN 60KW decided to have fuel problems and the 
ice covered the wifi antenna so we had no internet service to even find 
a replacement.  When you have to call "parts counterman personnel" with 
something that does not have wheels on it, you can see the dumb looks 
through the phone.  After I removed the fuel pump and got online, it 
took 20 minutes to find a replacement at the local NAPA warehouse about 
8 miles away.
I have to give my wife the credit for having service.  She got in the 
loader basket last night with a propane weed burner and a pole and 
heated and beat the ice off the wifi antenna while I operated the 
tractor and loader.  It was her first time to be over 6 ft off the ground!
We had from 1.5 to 2 inches of ice on everything.  2 power poles were 
broke at the road.  They were fixed today ( now yesterday). An outdoor 2 
story golf driving facility had 50 ft tall fences around it to keep the 
golf balls in and with the ice and wind, it looks like a tornado hit it!!
A couple of years ago I bought a little 8kw generator on trailer that 
had an Allis Chalmers/ Toyosha 213 engine driving a Winco generator.  
Same engine in the 5020 Allis tractor.  I ran it for a day not long 
after I bought it when the power was out from  a tornado.  This time it 
ran for 3 days with the only problem being household breakers cannot be 
used on a 2 cyl generator.  The vibration kills the contacts!!!   I had 
to rewire it at 2am!  I just bypasses the breakers!

They say we are going to get snow tonight...   The cattle are trying to 
slog through 4 inches of slush.  I had to quit feeding cubes they were 
tromping them in the ground.   Just feeding Wheat hay that has a lot of 
grain in it...   If it was not for the 4wd Belarus tractors, I would be 
out of luck.  The mud here is a foot deep.. My 2 wheel New Holland just 
spins without anything on the loader forks.   Over in the eastern side 
of OK they have had 15 inches of rain and the rivers are at the highest 
level ever recorded.

I hope you guys have better weather than we do.  If not I hope you have 
the equipment and knowledge to survive.....
If I had ot been such a pack rat I would be out of luck this past week.....

Cecil in OKla