Ice Storm

Last Thursday the weather got very mild and it began to rain. Throughout the day, the temperature dropped and the rain turned into ice pellets. The wet trees collected the ice pellets on their branches and made them their own. We had ourselves an ice storm.

Funny how changing the order of words can alter the mood completely. "Pretty dangerous" sounds cautionary. It's a warning to proceed carefully but you can proceed; you can go forward slowly, gingerly and with great care. "Dangerously pretty" sounds more ominous. Something to stay away from, don't proceed, stay very, very still and wait till it passes. Being careful doesn't minimize the danger. So you just have to sit back and hope nothing horrid happens. Freezing rain is dangerously pretty.


The branches look as if they have had the most delicate of work done by most talented of crystal makers. The trees show off the this art form to perfection. As the sun catches the icy veneer, the tree glistens fearfully. Because that thin, fragile ice can cause great damage. A skimming of ice that would crack easily underfoot on the ground turns deadly on a tree. It can weigh down a branch so much that it will break off from the tree. First I hear a groan as the branch gives way then there is a crash and the tinkling sound of the ice shattering along with the branch, if not the whole tree. It's amazing to me how much damage a thin layer of ice not even a quarter of an inch thick can cause. Ice laden branches can block a road, crush a roof and tear down electrical wires with half the effort it takes a summer storm to do the same thing.

Thankfully, this storm did not cause too much damage. We lost power for a few hours but all our trees and building withstood the weight of the ice. Walking is not much fun and we do stay out from under the trees but most of the danger has passed and now we can begin to appreciate the beauty without the dread.