Icy Beauty

We have been lucky compared to places like Oklahoma. The trees here in my neighborhood didn't crash down on houses and electrical lines, the power stayed on. That said, it has been quite a while since I remember so much snow and ice before Christmas. People are out shoveling, scraping, picking away at the ice on their sidewalks and driveways. I'm too cowardly to walk down the hill to the library because walkways are so slick and uneven.

Yesterday, after I complained about the cold and dishwater skies, the sun came out and lit up all the ice encased tree branches and telephone wires. For a few hours the effect was magical, sparkling, squint inducing. I took my camera out to try and capture some of it, but didn't come close to getting the true effect. I shuffled along on the icy sidewalks, mindful that a spill might break more than my camera, eyes looking cautiously toward the overhead tree branches. Every so often a crack split the air, and a shower of icy shards of ice fell out of the branches. These photos were the best I took.

Today we're back to dishwater, and the magic has disappeared.