Ice Storm

Many of you may have had the same weather as we did this weekend. There was a huge storm down south that caused a few tornadoes on Saturday (which we thankfully didn't have to worry about!). However, we also got the arctic blast that at night froze the falling rain that during the day melted all our snow. I went out this morning and skated around on the back deck (fun! kinda) and took some pictures of the ice. These are not water droplets, but ICE. Strangely enough, I was able to stay outside without a coat for about 20 minutes taking these pictures. I lasted until the wind picked up and then had to get inside... it was story-like magic how the trees, when moved by the wind, would crackle with broken ice. The ground splintered and squished beneath my feet. Then the fog rolled in...

Asian Pear off our back porch. All the trees had this frosty sheen on them.

They look like water droplets, but they truly were ice.

*One of my favorites...colors, lines, light.

It was sometimes hard to get the right angle so the background was pretty and yet you had the right light reflecting through the ice. Made me wish for a better camera and a side flash!

*Black-eyed Susans: we still have some of these stems in our yard from the gorgeous late-summer flowers. I love the way the ice coats the center making it all shiny and smooth (they are normally very spiny), and then how the water flowed to form a drip to one side.

*The way the ice and light are on these branches reminds me of Christmas tree lights.

*Blue spruce tree- it was difficult to see any ice on this tree from a distance, but up close it was so beautiful to see all these hidden ice droplets.

It looks so wet, and yet it was so very solid and cold.

You can see how one needs the right lighting and angle to really see the ice. In this shot I was trying to show the muted iced-over effect in the field behind. I lost the light and contrast showing the ice on the spruce.

See the ice on the bushes in the background? It was truly spectacular.

I loved the contrast of this red branch (raspberry) with the ice. I had a hard time getting my camera to focus on the part I wanted to capture: the iced branches and the dusky red base. This whole branch was coated with a sheen of ice, but it seemed more pronounced on the stems.

*I don't know what wild flower this was, but this is another of my favorite shots. I love how the ice beads at the very tips- seeming to defy gravity. And, then you still have the rimed branches in the background.

You can see how the ice flows along each branch, and the points where it starts to drip.

*The Ash Tree in our front yard, and the iced bushes (and sledding hill!) across the street in the background.

Those with an asterisk * next to them are my favorite shots. I took another 20 more than I posted here, but these are probably the most representative (or better) shots.

And, although I reveled in the beauty and magic of this ice, I was very grateful that the roads were not coated, that it was starting to melt as we left for church, and that we didn't lose power or tree branches because of the storm. I know some places were not so blessed.

Now, if we can just have a White Christmas...