Ice Storm 2011 – Day 2

Day 2 of the worst ice storm in decades – or so they say.  The freezing rain continued to come down until late evening yesterday, with the wind blowing like crazy.  Another inch of snow was supposed to fall overnight, but when I got up this morning nothing had fallen.  The top crust of ice was still solid.  The dog walked all around the yard without making a paw print.  She even slipped trying to jump up onto one of the benches built into our deck.  It was so slick that her claws provided no traction.

Despite all of the icy rain, the tree branches and bushes were not coated like I expected them to be.  I was expecting to wake up this morning to a fantastic winter wonderland that I could spend the day photographing.  That was not the case.  In fact, I slipped down the front steps and totally flat on my side trying to clear the ice for the mail lady.  Luckily I was not hurt (just my pride – who knows who was watching me out their front windows!), but after that I figured my camera and I should stay safely on dry ground. 

The back yard was a little safe, and I did manage to get another picture of my neighbor’s butterfly bush.  I don’t know its scientific name (I am terrible with plants, trees, flowers, etc. – both with identification and growing) but I know that it specifically attracts butterflies.  And it did attract some beautiful specimens this summer.  Here is the bush yesterday: 

I feel like you can see the ice more prominently in yesterday’s photo.

 

And here is the bush today (below).  It doesn’t look like there is much more ice, but it obviously is weighed down quite a bit more.  Surprisingly we did not lose power, although the winds did wake me up a couple of times during the night.  During the late summer we cleared out a bunch of overgrown bushes and half-dead trees that were handing right over the house.  All of that hard, sweaty work was definitely worth it.  Who knows what would have happened otherwise.

Today was not quite as productive from a working standpoint, but definitely from a personal standpoint.  I started out the morning making blueberry-vanilla scones.  I finally hand-washed all of my sweaters.  There were six of them, all Ann Taylor LOFT.  I have hand washing sweaters even more than ironing.  However, it will seem like I have a whole new wardrobe once they dry.

Unfortunately, I think the dangerous weather has passed and I will have to return to work tomorrow.  I have been reading Facebook posts all day where people have been complaining about going stir crazy or looking forward to returning to work or school.  Not me.  I could work from home every day.  Don’t get me wrong.  I would prefer to be able to leave my house without wiping out, but I could definitely spend the majority of my days at home.  Without the stress of the office, I have all but written three more posts.  My creativity was flowing seemingly without effort.  Work stifles me.

Since it is officially a “school night”, I suppose it’s time to wrap this up and think about easing towards the bedtime routine.  Surely I can survive just two more days of work…

Ice Storm 2011 – Day 1

But for the fact that I have no mystical powers, I would be convinced that I caused this midwestern ice and snow storm.  Just the other day I was writing about how we have not had an ice storm in about twenty years.  And now, not even five days later, the city is coated in ice, with more building up as I type.  Trees, fences, and cars are beginning to look as if they are encased in bullet-proof glass.  It is both beautiful and disconcerting.

We went to the grocery store last night.  For the record, we always do our grocery shopping on Monday evenings.  We were not a part of the mob mentality rushing out to get milk, bread and eggs – three things that apparently guarantee your survival during an ice/snow storm. Trust me, the mob was out in full force.  I have never seen our market that busy.  It was unbelievable.  The store is not even set up for as many people as were there.  The lines wound around and between stands full of candy, coffee beans, granola and trail mixes.  OK, maybe the store is set up precisely for that considering I made an impulse purchase of caramel flavored coffee beans.

Our refrigerator and pantry are stocked.  I just hope the power doesn’t go out.  I was hoping the freezing rain would have turned to snow by now, but no such luck.  My husband and I stayed home from work today, and as of this moment, are planning to do the same tomorrow.  It was a more productive day than I’ve had in a long time.  Not only have I billed 7 hours, I did the ironing, have almost finished the laundry, have butter softening to make cookies, and seriously intend to finally wash my hand-wash only sweaters.

As I sit here in the warmth of my house, I wonder what all of the birds and squirrels and such do during this type of horrible weather.  I see the birds flitting by and hope that they are on the way to nests tucked deep inside evergreens where the ice will have a difficult time finding them.  In the twenty minutes or so that I have been writing this, the view from my couch has become even more like a scene from a fairy tale.  The tree branches are drooping more significantly.  My Weather Channel app tells me the ice isn’t supposed to turn to snow until 3:00 am – so about 11 more hours of this.  I think it’s safe to say I’ll be staying home again tomorrow, and possibly using my WordPress app to blog!

For the rest of you experiencing some form of this storm, stay safe!  Snuggle up inside with your sweetie or dog or cat (or all three if you can), have a glass of wine or beer or hot chocolate (I don’t think all three of those will mix together well), stay warm, and take advantage of being trapped inside.  I know I plan to!