February 17th. Ice was predicted but we weren’t
supposed to get any; we were on the edge of the rain/ice zone. The cold kept
moving in and the ice began to form at about dusk. Just a millimeter or so. We
lost power (and water) at about 10:30 pm. Power was restored at about 1:00 am
but we lost it again 15 minutes later. It was about 2 pm before power was
finally restored. Luckily, we have a wood stove to keep us warm.
In the morning, icicles were hanging off the branches near
the house.
The ‘locals’ - a
Chipping Sparrow, and a male and female Purple Finch - didn’t seem too happy
about it.
Usually, we would just rug up and wait it out but I had an
appointment and had to go out. Luckily the roads were clear and it was a great
excuse to take a camera.
It
was clear, even as I drove down the drive, that it was going to be interesting.
The ice really weighed down the needles on the Eastern Red Cedars, and…
thoroughly
coated the blueberry bushes.
As
with the cedars, the ice was thick on the pines along the road. Most of the
damage was to the pines. The weight of the ice was too much and branches
littered the roads in many places.
After
my appointment. It was overcast except for short bursts of sunshine, and the
temperatures showed no signs of rising. I was somewhat surprised that little
melting had occurred so I went home by a different route to see more of the countryside
Ice
decorated many of the fence wires.
Deciduous
trees were sprays of ice.
More
pines and their cones were coated thickly.
The countryside looked forlorn in the overcast conditions. From
a distance, it looked as the trees were covered with snow, but at close range,
I
was reminded it was actually ice
Fortunately,
the weather conditions that result in ice accumulations are rare in our area. The
temperatures are predicted to remain low for another day or so and the ice is
still clinging to trees in protected areas. It’s nice to be able to enjoy them
for a short time but it’ll be good when things return to normal again.
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