Friday, December 26, 2008

My Near Death Experience 0R Avalanche in Flatlands of midMichigan

I am obsessing about this experience so maybe blogging about it will free it from my mind. Christmas Eve Day turned warm and rainy here and I was out in front of the barn digging trenches to try and drain water away from the barn. I heard a little rumble and took off running (well, as fast as I run). The snow that you see in this picture came off the metal roof up above. It would have smooshed, broken, and buried me completely 'cause I was standing right in the middle. (Remember you can click on this pict to see how massive it really was)

My first question is "What are the odds of this happening while I was standing there?"
The second is "How did my body know to move out of the way?"

Of course, now I'm a little giddy thinking of newspaper headlines-
Alpaca Breeder Dies under Tons of Snow
Snow Breaks Every Bone in Senior Citizen's Body
First Known Avalanche in Michigan's Farmland
Widow Joins Husband in Untimely Death
Animals Survive but Caretaker Meets Death After Storm

Do you have any headlines to add to my collection?

How about this from my online friend Zuleika originally from Bermuda, now living in Edinburgh, Scotland:
'Freak Alpaca Farm Accident Makes for an Icy Grave'

My friend Sharon Winsauer suggests:
"Death from Barn Chores"

I was waiting for Beth to get home from the U.P. because I knew she would have some great headlines:
"Snow Slides....Granny Dives"
"Loud Cursing Sets Off Near Death Avalanche"
"Santa Makes Emergency Landing on Barn Top: Grandma Gets Runover by Cascading Roof Snow"
or how about:
"Metal Roofing Sends Barn Owner Hoofing"

Just in from daughter Terre:
"Snow Avalanche Makes Alpaca Granny Move Her Fanny"
"Alpaca Granny Finds Get-up-and-go Because of TwoTons of Cascading Snow"

From Friend Kathy down in Jackson at Luka's Alpaca Ranch
" Spinning Lady Spins Out, Saving Herself by a Thread"

12 comments:

Crazy Lady with purple fingers said...

Oh my goodness!! That was just too scary!! Thank-goodness you realized what was happening and managed to get out of the way!! It is hard to believe you would get rain when you have that much snow, that could make a real mess!! What a lot of work you have in snow removal. Take care.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thank God you have good reflexes! How about 'Freak alpaca farm accident makes for an icy grave' as a headline?
Thankfully that didn't happen. :-)

Lisa said...

Glad you are safe Maple! Yikes what a scary "almost"! This Michigan weather has been beyond crazy lately! Take care lady!

Anonymous said...

That sends chills down my spine.
It was messy on Wednesday... and even still. I don't know what I'd do if something required me to run. I seem to have misplaced that speed in my system lately.

Laughingrat said...

Wow, I am really glad you're okay! I think it's understandable to be freaked out by that! It sounds really frightening. Whoa.

Anonymous said...

Oh Maple! What an unsettling experience that would have been!! I'm SO SORRY this CRAZY weather makes the daily barn life that much harder for you!! Maybe "Ole Man Winter" will get the worst weather out of his system in December and be done with it!

My headline is: "Santa Makes Emergency Landing on Barn Top: Grandma Gets Runover by Cascading Roof Snow".

Or...."Snow Slides...Granny Dives!" or "Loud Cursing Sets Off Near Death Avalanche". Perhaps, "Metal Roofing Sends Barn Owner Hoofing!"

I'm glad you are able to laugh it off Maple! Also glad you are OK.

Snow Shovels of Hugs!

Beth

Cary ~ My Wool Mitten at Serenity Farms said...

Whew, Maple, thank goodness you are okay! And, knowing you are okay...I had to laugh at some of the headlines ;D Are you sure Ivan didn't push that snow down towards you??? Hugs.... Cary

Anonymous said...

First off, I'm so glad you're okay. How scary! Who would have thunk that something like THAT would happen? But, I must admit, because you were okay, as I read your witty account of the mishap, I ROFL! I don't have a newspaper headline, but all I could think about was your face on my next carton of milk! Me, sitting at breakfast saying..."Hey, I know that face!" (Hmmm...do they put grannies on milk cartons???) Anyway, please take care!

skiingweaver said...

Oh my gosh, Maple! That's crazy! Amazing how fast adrenaline can rocket through your system, isn't it?? Goodness. (A few years back, my hubby almost got killed by a falling air conditioner (!) - fell out of an upstairs apartment window when we were living in Cambridge and hit my car instead of him - gah!)

I hope you had a lovely day with your grandgirls!

Anonymous said...

Hi Mom! I am still so freaked by this! But a sense of humor has gotten us through a lot lately, hasn't it? How bout
Snow Avalanche makes Alpaca Granny Move Her Fanny
or
Alpaca Granny Finds Get-up-and-go because of two tons of cascading snow

Enjoy the new van!!!
Love,
T

Anonymous said...

Maple, I could not stop laughing when I read all the comments.

Happy New Year to you and your family.

isis

Anonymous said...

Wow! That's so crazy and scary. I can't really come up with anything better than the one about Avalanche making Granny Move Her Fanny. Glad you're okay. Whew.

Map