Did you have a cap light when the power went out?

by Deb Moorland
(Glade Park, CO)

From time to time we do experience an extended power outage here on the Park. Yesterday evening, during gale force winds and some wind driven snow, the power went out. Why does it always happen about dark-thirty? I think it was actually around 5:30 pm. Since this does happen from time to time it is important to be prepared. The basics include candles or perhaps a propane or oil lantern, and flashlights. A few years ago I came across one of the most simple, but nifty and useful devices I have ever enjoyed using: a cap light! It is a little battery operated light that clips on the bill of your cap. With it, your hands are free, and the light is naturally pointed at whatever you are focusing on. I use if frequently when I go out to shut up the chickens, which works best after dark when they have already roosted in the chicken house, then on to feed the horses. Sometimes you have to hook up electronics in a dark corner, or light a pilot light. Those things are much easier when your hands are free. I could go on and on about the usefulness of cap lights, but you get the idea. I now consider them essential.

Anyway - about midnight the power came back on. You probably noticed that too. It always wakes you up because everything that was on when it went out comes back on, with flashes of light and noise from the TV or radio. You notice that even things you weren't using are on, because when you were stumbling around in the dark (unless you had a cap light), you automatically tried to turn on the light in each room you entered, then forgot to switch if back off. The digital clock by your bed starts flashing, which is impossible to ignore, even with your eyes closed. So you get up to turn things off and make them quit flashing at you, and by then you are so awake you decide to go sit at the computer for a while. Which of course is why I wrote this. Now I am going back to bed. Wish me luck on getting back to sleep.