Cardinal; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008

A day and then a week passed by:
The redbird hanging from the sill
Sang not; and all were wondering why
It was so still—
When one bright morning, loud and clear,
Its whistle smote my drowsy ear,
Ten times repeated, till the sound
Filled every echoing niche around;
And all things earliest loved by me,—
The bird, the brook, the flower, the tree,—
Came back again, as thus I heard
The cardinal bird.

William Davis Gallagher

Becket Ice storm 1; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008

We had an ice storm on December 11th that left us without electrical power for over a week. Though the surrounding woods were beautiful to look at in many locations, the devastation brought to families and their property was enormous.

Becket Ice Storm 2; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008

Becket Ice Storm 3; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008

Becket Ice Storm 4; © Copyright Reserved, Richard Lovison, 2008

We escaped major damage to our home from falling limbs and were treated with a brilliant light show when a power line transformer blew up dropping live wires to the ground. We were fortunate to have a back-up generator system thus we didn’t lose our well pump, use of our refrigerator and heat. Countless others were not so fortunate.

Keeping life going with a generator took its toll emotionally due to lack of sleep. Yesterday the ordeal ended though we were rewarded with nine inches of snow with more expected tonight into Sunday.

Ah, life in the Berkshires!