This morning I awoke to “crunching”—the sound of ice being scraped off windshields. Unlike snow—where the world is hushed under layers of white—ice is noisy!I peered out the window and it was spectacular…an ice palace had formed overnight. I grabbed my camera, my clogs, and “rain” gear and headed outside (treacherous, but it was worth it).
The grass sounded like broken glass beneath my feet as I held onto the neighbor’s fence to guide me to the berry trees. There are no safe spots in an ice storm and only a small window of opportunity to catch the ice crystals before the rain washes them away.
My “trees of Tuscany” looked like the twin leaning towers of Pisa. I chuckled at the weight they were carrying and wanted to say, “It’s okay, you’ll stand straight and tall once again—maybe!” Actually their branches reminded me of my hair when I scrunch too much mousse into it.
This is our fifth—maybe sixth—ice storm of the year and not my favorite type of weather pattern. You can’t play in it, build snowmen, throw snowballs, or even make snow angels. It’s only good to look at—much like the "icing on the cake." So this morning, I “basked” in the splendor of the gift that only nature can bring.
Enjoy my “ice capades” and be thankful that you live in an ice-free environment, which is why we are moving to California (in just 13 short months); they just have fog, rain, and sunshine.
Ahh...that will be "berry, berry" nice!
P.S. Did you notice the new pink on my blog? There's a reason why everything is coming up PINK! More on that tomorrow...
Here's a sneak peek! See if you recognize the pink boa in the EDM Magazine (hint: page 2-3).
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ice storms, Lancaster County
19 comments:
What part of California "just" has fog, rain and sunshine? Have you forgotten the fires, the floods, the earthquakes and the mudslides?
(you might like Oregon better. We have mini earthquakes, the ones that you can only feel on the 5th floor, mudslides, rain and some flooding now and then. Granted, we don't have California's sun, but we happily leave that to California, as long as it keeps the Californians down there.)
I think the thing that strikes most midwesterners and east coasters about the west is how TALL the mountains are. What you call mountains back there, we jokingly call "hills". :) But we have gorgeous oceans and great mountains and just about anything anyone could want (and relatively LOW humidity, at least when it's warm...I'd say the humidity here now is about 100%).
PS, we had a similar ice storm years ago that made my birches bow low, and they never did recover. I finally had to cut the top off one, lest it fall on my fence and break it!
Kara!!!!!!! Thanks for visiting. Well, you're right about California having those other minor inconveniences (smile!). But after living in Sicily for six years with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, the ones in California didn't seem like such a big deal.
California is actually home to us (born and raised)--the San Francisco Bay Area with(lots of fog!). Our entire family lives there and we transplanted to the East Coast 22 years ago, and now we're going back home to be with our family (our "boys" are all grown up).
We love Oregon too and there's nothing like the Oregon Coast and Cannon Beach, Oregon. We went to school at Whitworth College and remember the 22-hour drive from Spokane to SF (we were much younger and could do the all night thing!).
There will some things I'll miss about the East Coast, but certainly not the ice storms!
HUGS!
Hi Guys!
OK, now I'm hooked. I love the pink, Kara's name is actually Jodie, and your photos are lovely. Much nicer than mine, I might add...And you make me laugh, which is now why I need to get off my pink tushie and check in with what and how you have to say it every day.
Oh, oh, oh! I found new pink jammie bottoms at the sal val yesterday; not so seasonal! Hot pink with black kitties...my favorite color combination.
Stay safe, we got to sleep in this morning, two hour delay, and now I am off to retrieve my mom from the loneliness she experiences in a city of over 8 million.
Peace.
Ah - once the pink loaded, it's very gorgeous!!!
Brave woman, going out on the ice. While you were having the ice storm, we were having 78 degree temps and tornadoes!
But now it's back in the 50s and 30s.
Thirteen months, huh? Wow. Are you packing yet? :-)
We've set a goal - we plan to move back closer to our kids within the next 5 years. I would already be packing myself, but I can't figure out how we'll do it financially! LOL!
Love ya!
Oops, sorry, Jodie--I called you "Kara." I'm horrible at names...thanks for correcting me Miss Kathy!
The ice has melted and in its place is WIND!
I found my trash can three blocks down the road (someone had run over it), and the lid was in my neighbor's yard. I'll have to devise a new plan for keeping my trash can from running away from home!
Miss Kathy,
I wish I could say that I blog every day as faithfully as you, but alas I do not. But I'm going to try to blog more consistently. :)
Pink and black jammies?!?! My favorite (and kitties too?). Well that settles it, I'm making a trip to my "Sal" and see what I can find. Like I need more flannel?!?!?!
HUGS!
Beautiful. I wonder if you'll miss the ice storms once you move.
Tracy,
I know...these "skins" load slowly. But it's my solution to fight the urge to spend. It's my new form of "window" shopping. If I can dress up my blog with new "clothes," it fulfills a need for shopping. My husband has noticed that I don't spend and have started saving. Every day that I don't buy something, I put that amount into savings.
It's my recession proof way to live in 2009!
Jan,
Ya think?!?!? After all our injuries in 2008 (broken hip and torn rotator cuffs), I won't miss ice storms. But I will miss the changing of the seasons and sharing the road with Amish buggies. But our extended family is waiting for us with open arms (it's been over 33 years since I have lived near my family). Time to finally go home!
My old beagle was Kara and she fit my personality so well, I use her as my "nomme de plume"...Actually she used to write our Christmas letters, to the chagrin of my mil...but everyone else liked them.
I would think, if you buy now, you could get a relatively good deal on property in California....they were overpriced to begin with, but might be more reasonable now.
I used to go to Cannon Beach for spring break, oh about 30+ years ago. My folks have retired to Seal Rock (first to Yachats, but now Seal Rock). I'm a native Oregonian...lived in Wash and AK, but love Oregon best and have no desire to roam, unlike my 'beagle' counterpart.
Aren't ice storms the prettiest things ever? No fun to walk, drive or play in, but they make for great photos.
Pass through Tulsa on your way to CA, will ya? :D
Connie,
I did another post on skin cancer.
How are you and the DH doing these days?
What a great time to move to a warm climate.
Jodie,
Ah-ha, I get it! Thanks for that explanation. I love Seal Rock; we vacationed every year in Oregon (the entire Oregon coast is imprinted in my mind). I have such fond memories of razor clam digging. Waiting for the bubbles to pop up in the sand and then dig with those silly shovels. My sister and her husband go to Ashland, Oregon every year to a B&B (they met at Cannon Beach!) over 35 years ago. Love at first sight.
Ahh...memories!
HUGS!
Flea,
Is that you? Wow! You've got Hollywood star quality in that picture. I'll have to tell you about my recent hair appt. What didn't she understand about the word"trim"? This is the shortest I have ever had my hair! I'm looking into hair extensions on the internet.
I'm welcome to suggestions!
HUGS!
Jan,
The hubbby is doing well, back to work, and exercising again. He's about 90% back to "normal." The body is amazing, although when we fly to California in March I'm sure he'll be setting off all kinds of alarms with his new hardware!
HUGS!
We're getting lots of ice too Connie. The yard indeed looks like an Ice Palace! It's so beautiful, but I'd much rather have snow when it comes to driving :)
Oh, I'm having a give-away, but you all ready "own" one of these. But feel free to spread the word!!!
Hugs,
Susan
You're so funny - go to the nearest salon and ask for a weave and see what they say. :)
I'm written another Fred & Bessie book - this time strictly a children's picture book. My mom's going to illustrate one of the pages for me initially, see where we can go. Thanks for being such an encourager with my first attempt!
Oh boy, Fred and Bessie (yeah, I'm one of their biggest fans!).
A weave, huh? Thankfully, hair grows back, but only an inch a month...I think! :)
HUGS!
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