Our local bee club had a zoom meeting last night. Even some of the seasoned beekeepers are concerned about winter losses because of the deep freeze. Marginal colonies will be lost for sure.
A rural beekeeper shared that he was told that propane was being rationed. He only got 200 gallons. The electrical grid has been off for 2 hours. It's my understanding our local company is sending our resources down to Texas. (I am not sure of the exact procedure) I will add that we had NO advance notice that this was going to happen. I also appears that they targeted certain neighborhoods. This could be very scary for those with medical conditions requiring electricity and/or heat.
I'm sorry we are stealing your resources. The word down here is that all (most?) of the windmill farms that are supposed to be replacing fossil fuel are frozen and standing useless. I've got a friend in Beeville near one of the windfarms who confirmed the frozen blades of the windmills despite howling winds.
Many in Texas are ready to blame Biden for his early implementation of green policies.
We have been without water for the last two days. We live in a small housing addition outside of town and the new owners of our water district failed to protect their pipes. On the other hand, we have not lost electrical power. We hear from folks in town who are participating in the rolling blackouts.
My sister-in-law and her husband are still without power or water. All of the business in town are shut down, except the large Grocer, HEB. They drove 25 miles away to find a gas station that was open and a restaurant that wouldn't let them eat inside. The IHOP did allow them to use the restroom and wash their hands.
All of our local stores are rationing water. Two water items per customer. By visiting various stores, we feel lucky to have 6 gallons of water to flush our toilets with. I was outside earlier today collecting snow and icicles.