Everything was coated with a thick layer of ice.
Ice-laden tree branches fell and brought down power lines. We had no heat from 3:30 until the power finally came back on at 11:30 a.m. yesterday.
Sunday morning we hurried to get outdoors before the ice melt. Driving through the forest was breathtaking, like moving through a glass cathedral as the sun hit the tops of the trees.
Ice-laden tree branches fell and brought down power lines. We had no heat from 3:30 until the power finally came back on at 11:30 a.m. yesterday.
No way to cook either, except for a gas barbecue grill. Cold and uncaffeinated, we waited forever to get something approaching boiling water to happen on the grill and provide coffee and tea!
Poor camellias suffered the most. Hundreds of buds waiting to bloom on our seven camellia trees, now turned to mush.
Sunday morning we hurried to get outdoors before the ice melt. Driving through the forest was breathtaking, like moving through a glass cathedral as the sun hit the tops of the trees.
Each needle of the long-leaf pines had its own casing of ice. When I got out to take a photo a chorus of tinkling greeted me as pieces of ice began to fall.
As more and more melted and the drama faded, we stopped to eat our breakfast and see how the water birds were doing in the cold. There was only a light skim of ice at the back of the pond and in just a few moments we recorded a beautiful flock of Hooded Mergansers taking off (foreground), many Cormorants, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, a Roseate Spoonbill, White and Brown Pelicans, Tundra Swan, a flock of Bluebirds, another of Cedar Waxwings, and a third of Chipping Sparrows.
As more and more melted and the drama faded, we stopped to eat our breakfast and see how the water birds were doing in the cold. There was only a light skim of ice at the back of the pond and in just a few moments we recorded a beautiful flock of Hooded Mergansers taking off (foreground), many Cormorants, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, a Roseate Spoonbill, White and Brown Pelicans, Tundra Swan, a flock of Bluebirds, another of Cedar Waxwings, and a third of Chipping Sparrows.
By the time we drove home, the ice storm was just another memory.
There is beauty and trouble with ice storms. You experienced both.
ReplyDeleteHasn't this been crazy weather? What a terrible ice storm. Been a while since we've had an ice storm like that one, but we have sure been through some bad ones. The temperature here dropped from 70 to the 20s too but we got snow this time. I feel so bad about your beautiful Camellias. Bet that coffee tasted good once you got a little hot water. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you have your digits reversed above, Cynthia. It should be 23C not 32. That was quite an event, but as you say its impact wasn't lasting. And spring is just around the corner!
ReplyDeleteWhoops, thank you. 😊
DeleteWell, come on! You know that this frost and ice was a treat since you ordinarily don't get such weather. Ice build ups like this may be pretty but they can also cause a lot of harm.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful sight but not for your camelias or the loss of power and heat.
ReplyDeleteThat was a rather sudden temperature swing - the kind of rapid change we don't get here in the UK. The photos you've taken are superb, but I wouldn't want to go without power just to get them.
ReplyDeleteBut seeing all those different bird species must have been a real treat.
ReplyDeleteOh the lost blooms...that is sad. Maybe you need a campstove!! I know we should have one...but the kids have a generator at their air b and b so we can go there and back at home my brother has a generator at his office...I know my husband would be lost without his coffee:)
ReplyDeleteWow that must have been exciting but cold and miserable without electricity. The icicles are so pretty, sad about the camellia buds.
ReplyDeleteFrozen but you show some beautiful pictures! The bloom of the camellia is just lovely...
ReplyDeleteHug, Titti
That was quite a drop in temperature! Beautiful pictures, but what a pity the camellias didn't survive all the ice.
ReplyDeleteDear Cynthia, your excursion sounds like a meander through "fairy-land." I love your descriptive words--"ice cathedral."
ReplyDeleteBack in the winter of 1969-70, I began to wear contacts for the first time. I was living off campus at the U. of M. (Minnesota) and walked to a morning class in the bitter cold with snow banks that were so high, the cars had to put red ribbons on their aerials so as to see if another car was just around the corner. The sun was bright and glinted off the snow and the glare caused my eyes to water. Tears immediately turned to ice and my eyelashes became coated in ice. Every time I blinked, ice would clink and clatter down my face and onto my neck scarf. I went along for several blocks "tinkling" as you said! Peace.