Mountain Lane Homesteaders

37 Hours Without Power or .....Am I a Hillbilly or a Redneck?

11:01 AM, Monday, December 18, 2006 .. Posted in Living in the Woods .. 8 comments .. Link

With so many things half done and pieces of things having to find places to hide until they're ready to be used, it's easy for the area surrounding our house to begin to look well, awful. Saturday morning's bungie bag just sealed the deal.

Due to some strong winds in the area we lost electric power around 3 a.m. on Friday morning and were still without it at 9 a.m. Saturday morning as we were getting ready to leave for the day to make a shopping trip into Missoula (1 1/2 hours away). Since the temperatures were low we asked a neighbor to pop in mid afternoon and toss some wood into the fire to keep it going while we were gone. When the power is out, our well doesn't pump so first off (to my horror) there were a days worth of dishes sitting on the counter. I could have done them the way we did when we first moved in here by using the water in our jugs and boiling it on the stove and such but I had not imagined the power would be out for so long so I let them sit. Then, I checked the meat in the freezer which was just beginning to feel a little soft. We decided at that point that it would be better for the meat to be outside rather than in the freezer. Only thing is, it had to be up high enough so no animal could get it while we were away. Where better than on one of the nails we pounded into roof rafters to hold the lanterns we used out front before the outside light was installed? So out came a black bungie and a plastic bag full of meat. Up on the first nail it went.... on the side of the cabin with a ladder leaning against it and the old wood stove sitting there. The uncovered septic tank was there too, right between the house and our make-shift shed. Now here is where the ulimate homemaking experience took place......I asked Sam to move the plastic bag of meat suspended by the black bungie cord over to the nail on the OTHER side of the house because it just didn't look QUITE SO TACKY there! Move over Martha Stewart!!! I wonder if the neighbor was able to appreciate this as he approached the partially stained front of our cabin while stumbling over the thick pieces of bark that had been scattered about as firewood was being tossed out of the back of the truck. I'm certain it more than made up for the vision of my undone dishes once he made it inside! Ah, living in the woods........

We did go on our shopping trip and the neighbor filled the stove for us, however we were gone longer than we had thought so the fire was completely out when we got back in the wee hours of the morning. Thankfully the electricity was back on but the temperature inside the cabin said 37 degrees. Sam went to work fast on the fire (bringing the wood INSIDE to split!) and I turned on the cold water faucet. The moment of horror when nothing came out passed when we turned on the hot water tap and got sputtering water. After it had heated up and ran for a while the cold began to flow as well. We then kept it running until the fire was well under way and the temperature began to rise. No frozen pipes this time but boy it was as close as we'd ever want to get. It was another layered jammie night for me!! Thankfully the kids were all so exhausted from the day that they were asleep within moments under their warm blankets and not standing about shivering with cold. Ah, living in the woods.......

Lately the terms redneck and hillbilly have been coming to mind around here. I think I like the sound of hillbilly much better, although according to this definition I found, perhaps I am really more of a redneck since I often feel resistance to assimilation into many things in the dominant culture! Oh well, I don't suppose it matters. Which ever one is fine with me as long as my meat can hang from the leftside nail in the front of the house where it's colder than the freezer and the only one I have to worry about seeing it is the kind neighbor who's stopping over to fire up my woodstove on a cold winters day. I don't think he always assimilates into the dominant culture either!

Hillbilly

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Hillbilly is a term referring to people who dwell in remote, rural, mountainous areas. In particular the term refers to residents of Appalachia and later the Ozarks in the United States. Usage of the term "Hillbilly" generally differs from other terms referring to rural people in the United States in that it can be used for mountain dwelling people anywhere but is generally not used to refer to rural people in non-mountainous areas. Further, terms like redneck and cracker, often connote rejection of, or resistance to assimilation into the dominant culture, while hillbillies theoretically are merely isolated from the dominant culture. Nevertheless, the term is sometimes considered derogatory depending on the context in which it is used or the attitude of the target.

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11:22 AM, Monday, December 18, 2006 .. Posted by mc2rwe
Darcy Darcy Darcy... girl... you are a hillbilly tried and true... being as I live in AR now I consider myself an expert on the matter. A hillbilly is willing to fight for a good cause...not just fight. A hillbilly is proud and protects what is theirs... and they have their own way of doing things... all I can say to you dear dear friend is...fight like you have never fought, protect your dream and keep on doing it with your own incredible style... you are my idol...

Kat
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11:49 AM, Monday, December 18, 2006 .. Posted by SofteningClay
My sister lives just north of you and they also experienced no electicity or water on Friday. She said that they would scoop up the snow and melt it on the wood stove so they would have water for washing and drinking. It sounded like an experience that I would not want to have to go through. I am glad that you got your electricity and water back as well.
A Post! A Post! A Post!

7:29 PM, Monday, December 18, 2006 .. Posted by Anonymous
I was so excited, even if it wasn't all good news you had to share... and I vote for hillbilly, redneck is more for us suburban people who think we are hillbillies, wearing cowboy hats & boots & driving big trucks. Or Broncos. Rednecks love Broncos (why OJ bought one I'll never know, he's no redneck). I have missed your writing, friend... now get wrapping, I hope you got all your shopping done. Love, Chris P.S. When the house warms up take a shower with that spearmint soap. I am enjoying it!
Oh, I so love your posts...

4:06 PM, Wednesday, December 20, 2006 .. Posted by jackiebridgen
I want your life ... <sigh> .... oh no, I just swore off coveting my neighbours life!
What on earth is the British equivalent of a hillbilly, do you suppose?
I'm gonna have to find out........
Not redneck or hillblilly

5:09 PM, Wednesday, December 20, 2006 .. Posted by MissionaryMom
Neither redneck or hillbilly, dear, you are a homesteader in the truest sense. Hold your head high. We all envy the progress you've made. You are doing what the rest of us only dream of.

I wrote a post recently about rednecks verses white trash...but my issue was so minor compared to yours. It was more about the way we dress... oh well. I don't think we should spend so much time worrying about what others are thinking about us. If we care about the junk outside, we probably don't have to worry. It will find its place in time.

Have you considered getting a propane heater for those days you are going to town. That has saved our pipes many a time I'm sure. We dealt with frozen pipes several times last year. Not fun. We go to bed most nights now with all of the faucets turned on a bit. We also have an electric oil heater - but we have the blessing of a hydroelectric generator most of the time, so electric expenses are not an issue.

Well, I hope you have a good Christmas.

Carol
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6:40 AM, Thursday, December 21, 2006 .. Posted by erisarei
My parents recently had their power off for EIGHT days. No that isn't a typo, Ameren just didn't consider the small town they live in important, I guess.

Have a merry, merry Christmas!
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9:58 AM, Thursday, December 21, 2006 .. Posted by justme
I don't like the term hillbilly:( I just think we Montanians have to live a different way because of where we live. I'm grew up in california and didn't know what the electrial plug was in the front of the cars nor could I understand that you could put meat outside to flash freeze. A few days ago I put my pumpkin out in the car for the night and hoped it wouldn't freeze. LOL

Glad you got your power back and you didn't have any pipes freeze. We came back from vacation one year to find a broken pipe and water all over the floors in 2 rooms and running outside past the walls. You might think about turning off your water or presure tank while you are gone. I know a number of people who do that even if it is only for part of a day.
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3:53 PM, Friday, January 12, 2007 .. Posted by CandyFoote
I enjoyed this post.
Wait a minute, it sounded so close to home that maybe it wasn't that funny after all!
Just kidding.
Great writing!

Candy

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About Me

My husband and I along with our 3 children, moved from Iowa to Montana 3 years ago fulfilling a long time dream of living in the mountains. Last summer we purchased and moved onto our bare land and are currently living in our home made cabin which has evolved from a shed to a barn to our cabin and future guest house. The foundation for what we now call "The big house" is dug and waiting for our next burst of energy!