by Deanna Nelson | Dec 22, 2013 | blog |
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This chaotic weekend before Kris Kringle arrives has been decisively interrupted by an ice storm. What typically would be a flurry of shopping, wrapping, and generally wild preparations, has become much quieter. The cars are encased in ice in the driveway. There is a region-wide no travel ban. Even churches, diners, and the urgent care facility were closed this Sunday morning. Wow.
All in all, it is a blessing. Paul has been busy indoors preparing taps and tubing. Jeri has been flanked by large dogs while she catches up on reading. My household has been intermittently cleaning, watching the freezing rain fall, and skating outside for various tasks and animal chores. It has been a lot quieter than we expected, and I think we all needed the break.
The quiet noises of an ice storm are rather magical. The crystal clinking of the ice-clad branches. The occasional crash of a limb or treetop as it succumbs to the weight of the increasing ice load.
Although we are missing the brunt of the storm and increasingly devastated photos are arising from areas further north, it is inspiring to think of the recuperative powers of Mother Nature. Even after the mammoth ice storm of 1998, which laid waste to a swathe of land stretching from here to north of Montreal, the landscape recovered. It’s as though there is some natural pruning being undertaken. The fallen limbs provide habitat, and the holes left in the canopy permit greater diversity to rise through the forests.
As we listen to the magic of the storm, we are in awe of its power and respect the changes we cannot stop. That being said, stay out of the woods and off the roads! No worse way to end the month than with a tree hitting your head or sliding into a ditch… An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.