Rick takes pictures this morning before the big melt-down

 

SNOW & ICE PICTURES by Suzanne (Feb. 2021)

 

It's melting.....

It's melting.....

Cozy and Warm

Stayed home and made a pot of homemade chili while waiting for a winter storm to pay us a visit.  So far it looks like it is going to miss us.  It has rained for the last two days, but we haven't seen any icy weather and I'm glad of that.  An ice storm is beautiful beyond words, but icy slippery roads, fallen trees and downed power lines make life challenging to say the least.  Since an ice storm in 1994 trapped me in and left me without electricity for 17 days, I have made it a point to always be ready.  I was single and alone at that time, but I was younger and thought it was great fun.  My phone worked, I had plenty of firewood for the wood stove, food to eat, and my dog Rocky by my side.  I had a chainsaw, but like always I could never get that thing started by myself so I called the men who delivered my firewood and they cut me out after about 5 days.  They actually had to cut their way in to where I was.  Once out I taxi'd my girl friends around since their vehicles were of no use to them.  The interstate got closed down and I volunteered as an unpaid waitress for one evening for motorists who got stranded and saw the lights of the restaurant on where I was eating and stopped in to get warmed up.  It got so over-crowded with travelers and only one waitress because the other waitresses couldn't make it in to work.  Two of us felt sorry for the only waitress, so we got up from our seats and began taking orders and serving drinks.  I have a great appreciation for waitresses now.  I had never done that before or since.  I know it's against all health regulations, but it was in an emergency situation.

Maybe I should have titled this post:  Memories From My Past or Ice Storm Stories

Just another quick memory.....

in 1987 right after my grandson Matthew was born we had another very beautiful ice storm.  I had been in the hospital all afternoon and night with my youngest daughter and it was now time for me to go home.  She was in a hospital in Richmond and my daughter's husband was to follow me to Berea, just to make sure that I got there safely, but he thought I was taking U.S. 25 home and I took I-75 instead.   I thought he was right behind me all the way and felt so safe and didn't even worry about sliding, getting stuck or anything, because I knew he would be there to help me.  It was snowing really hard, great big beautiful snowflakes, a regular whiteout and you couldn't see anything.  As I approached Berea it stopped snowing and that's when I saw how beautiful everything looked, like a winter wonderland with ice crystals glistening in every tree branch and bush.  It was breathtaking.  I waited for my daughter's husband for a little while and then went on home and called him to make sure he made it safely home.  He had,  and that's when we discovered that we had taken different routes home and he wasn't behind me after all and I wasn't in front of him either.  My daughter had given him STRICT ORDERS TO FOLLOW ME HOME AND MAKE SURE I GOT HOME SAFELY.  We just laughed and debated on whether to tell my daughter that we got separated just after we left the door of the hospital.  I still laugh when I think about it.  

I have plenty of ice storm stories, but they're all memories from my past.  We don't get many ice storms or snow much anymore.  

Ice Everywhere I look

The ice just keeps on growing by the day.  First it was just a little bit and now with the slow mist that is falling the ice grows thicker with each  new day.  It's not a nuisance yet and the main roads are clear. Pretty soon our winter wonderland will disappear, when the sun comes out again, but for now it's beautiful looking out from in here.

Ice Storm 2010

What could have turned into a devastating ice storm has missed us so far.  The temperature is rising and the ice & snow are melting.  We don't have much time before it begins to start freezing again as nightfall sets in, but at least the ice is not growing in thickness.

All the little branches of the trees are coated with a thin crust of ice and there are small icicles hanging from every power line, but they are small and don't seem to be getting any larger and that's good news to me.  I don't relish the idea of being without electricity and for some people that also means without heat.

Pictures taken by Jimmy

It all starts with... Oooo and Awe

This is how it starts...all pretty and colorful, with ice coating everything. Like a Winter Wonderland before your eyes, then before the day is over the devastation begins with loud cracking sounds. If you're in the house it sounds like gunfire all around you with an occasional thud on the roof as something heavy falls on it. Before long you see your beautiful trees breaking like matchsticks right before your eyes, all around you.....This is an ice storm.

Brian & Sharon's families were trapped unable to leave their homes by downed trees and power lines blocking their way out or any emergency vehicles in. CLICK HERE. After a day or two, two from each family walked out to meet us and we took them to get needed supplies.

Most everyone here in Kentucky is without electricity, heat, water & phone. Some without all and some of the lucky ones have use of a phone and are warm. Jimmy & I are among the lucky ones and although we didn't have electricity for a time, we have had it on and off for most of the time, but never for more than a day at a time.

With almost a state wide electrical outage it's hard to find any stores or gas stations open for business...even mighty Walm*art is closed. There's no street lights, but surprisingly enough everyone is very cordial and every intersection has turned into a four way stop.

In the Western part of the state the cell phones don't work and today my cell phone isn't working here although it is fully charged. Thank goodness for the old timey landline phones...not the cordless ones because they're also useless, but the old corded phones. I don't know how many people that I've talked to have told me that they dug into a throw away box and thank goodness their old phone was still in there. Us older folks have gone through this before, so we've never stopped using a corded phone in some location of our home.

As far as heat goes, last winter we bought a ventless gas fireplace that does not require electricity in any way just for these times when the electric goes out in the winter. It has paid off big time and we have remained toasty warm during this ordeal.

As I look out I see that it is snowing very heavily. I hope that everyone has now found a warm place to lay their head and a hot meal to eat.

Who needs a title when you have nothing to say?

I really don't have much to say today. I woke up fine and two hours later I'm sick again with this head congestion, watery eyes and runny nose...I also have a headache if you really need to know everything and I'm feeling a little nauseous & dizzy. And... if you can tell by the sound of my typing, I'm a bit irritated by this whole sickness thing that we just can't seem to shake.

I should be feeling great. There are little tweeting birdies right outside of my window playing hide & seek in the hedge, which is covered with snow. They seem to be having a ball flittering here and there. Am I making up words? Is there such a word as flittering? I can't think straight today and I'm too lazy to consult the dictionary and besides that, reading this is making me feel dizzzzzy.

I can't reach my brother today to leave my usual annoying comments to him. His blogs are dead silent and I know he is missing me. (hahaha...laughing in a sarcastic sort of way). They had an ice storm and their power is out cold, laying on the ground along with their electric lines to the house. The lines were struck down by broken tree branches from the weight of the ice, so I'm told. I'll let Motherkitty tell you all about it when she returns to civilization. I only know what I've heard and that isn't much.

We have about 3 inches of snow on the ground here today and it's really very pretty out. Last night it was treacherous out as the water froze on the roads and the rain turned to sleet and ice...and that's when I found out about the ice storm over on the western side of the state. I hope the power company comes to their aide soon and fixes their electric lines and restores their services soon....like today!

The little 'birds of the hedge' have now been joined by beautiful bright red Cardinals and their not so pretty mates. It's really very nice to be able to see the birds from such a close range...But it's also irritating to know that I can't take a picture of them without a camera. I've decided to remove the screen from the window and give the windows a good cleaning when I feel better and it warms up. To open the shutters and pull back the blinds...I just felt like saying that.

Since the cats have also discovered the birds on the hedge my poor copier is littered with cat litter as they sit next to my monitor screen. Little piles of cat litter left behind as they sit, watch the birds and clean every piece of litter from between their toes. I know if I remove the blinds, then I'll also have nose prints on the glass, and if I have to stop and clean the window before each time I want to take a picture, then I'll scare the birds away. No need to worry about that now anyway.

Did I mention that I'm sneezing constantly?

I called my daughter today...the one who is sick...little Suzannie (she hates to be called that). She told me that she was feeling better today...
and I told her that it comes back.