I feel the earth move under my feet...

Map from USGS website

Around 7:25 p.m. last night, things were rockin' in southwestern Maine and surrounding states. I happened to be at work, just over the border in New Hampshire, when the library rumbled and shook. First, we thought the boiler had exploded, or some similar disaster had occurred. Then I realized we'd just experienced an earthquake.

Given our precarious barn situation, I called John--no answer. That got me a little more concerned, so I tried his cell. But due to the earthquake, phones were jammed with so many cells in use. I tried a few minutes later on the land line and got through. Yup, John had felt it too and thought it may have been a large truck, airplane maybe? Nope--just the fractured old granite underfoot giving us all a good shake-up here in New England. People reported feeling it as far away as New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. I asked John if he thought I should swing by the barn on the way home and check things out. Thankfully, the horses were turned out for the night or I might have been even more worried. Pete had checked on the barn and horses--all was fine.

Earthquakes are certainly something we rarely think about in our neck of the woods. Just by looking at the map, you can see we're not a "hot spot" for activity. But it got me thinking about contingency plans even more, what with our recent barn debacle. No shelter, no water, no electricity--am I prepared for all of those? I'd love to have a run-in shelter as a backup option, and when and if I have my own barn, that shelter will certainly be built! The other two are easier to deal with. There's lots of water sources in the area, albeit you may have to cart a truck full of containers at a time, and electricity isn't really a problem as much as an inconvenience. (Remember the big ice storm, fellow New Englanders?)  So here's some food for thought fellow equestrians. Here's an interesting link if you want to see what's shaking in your neighborhood!

I visited the horses early this morning to work on the ramp training and check that all was well. After a frosty night, they were feeling sparky, ready to come in and chow down some grain. Thankfully, all the horses seem to have mastered the ramp, but I'm hoping we'll see a new barn floor in the near future.