I had a note from Cheryl Castner (Birch Bound Rd) in New Jersey, letting us know they are ok.  Here's what she wrote:
 

Hello!

 

My name is Cheryl Castner, and my husband’s family owns a cabin on Joe’s Pond where we vacation every summer.  I came upon your blog awhile ago, and I’ve been following it for the past year or so.

 

I saw your comment about wondering how Joe’s Ponders are doing who live in the affected areas hit by Hurricane Sandy.  I thought I’d let you know that we are okay.  We live in northwest New Jersey.  We had the worst winds I have ever seen in my life!  For three hours Monday night, the winds were sustained with no let up.  The gusts were ever worse.  We live on a farm, and there are dozens of trees down.  However, we suffered NO building damage and NO flooding.  Areas east of us, and at the Jersey Shore, have it a lot worse than us.  Here at home, we are living on generator power.  We lost power Monday, October 29th at 3 pm.  It is now the following Monday, and we are still without power.  The utility workers are working long hours to get us all restored.  Our power company alone had more than one million people without power.  I thank GOD every day that we were fortunate enough to only lose power, and I pray every day for those who were less fortunate than us.  Add to all of that the fact that a portion of New Jersey was rocked by an early morning earthquake today, measuring 2.0 on the Richter Scale, and the fact that we are expecting another storm later this week, (though not forecasted to be as devastating as Sandy), I have to ask whoever caused Mother Nature to be mad at New Jersey...could you please apologize!  HAHA

 

As for Joe’s Pond, I am very happy to hear that it, and it’s residents, were spared mighty Sandy’s wrath!!

 

Thank you,

 

Cheryl Castner

Stillwater, New Jersey

 

We are very glad to know Cheryl and her family are ok.  Can you imagine how frightening an earthquake must have been after going through Hurricane Sandy?  I know I would be a bit edgy after such high winds and being without power, and then being rocked by an earthquake would likely scare the bejeebers out of me. 

 

I guess now we have that nor'easter coming at us Wednesday night . . . could be we're heading into a rip roaring old fashioned winter.  I notice the Old Farmer's Almanac predicts heavy snow just before Christmas, then very cold weather.  That figures.  Like I said, an old fashioned winter.