Last year it was all about the snow. This year, the snow is in the Northeast and the Midwest, and even in the South. We have sleet, freezing rain and that special sleet-snow that has been called ‘heart attack snow’.
This year, it is all about the trees. The latest storm put such weight on the trees that they broke apart in amazing numbers. Many streets were blocked, and many power lines were taken down. This broken tree is in my neighborhood. It is not the most severely damaged – others lost even more or larger branches and took down more power lines. However, this one made the best picture.
The storm that caused this tree’s damage was on January 26th. It all began with rain, which turned to sleet, and then shifted to very wet snow that hit it’s maximum drop-rate around 7PM. By then, the roads hd been in gridlock for 2 hours. Although the storm and it’s pattern were predicted well in advance, Montgomery County did not sand, was not ready to plow, and did nothing to manage the gridlocked traffic. My commute is about 7 miles, but much of it is eastbound. It took me 5 hours to get home from work.
I had lots of company.
Contrary to local government excuses, the problem was not the street conditions nor was it due to abandoned cars. The eastbound gridlock was due to the timing of the traffic lights, which allowed north and south feeder streets to dump traffic onto the eastbound cross streets, but never allowed the eastbound traffic to move.
I saw this icy grove on my way in to work the next morning. The aftermath of disaster can be quite amazing, beautiful, or haunting.
With sunlight, there are sepia tones, while the overcast skies result in what amounts to black and white scenes. In either event, what I most enjoy is seeing the trees’ skeletons, in their chaotic simplicity.
When it is so cold (and it is very cold as I type this here at my dining room table), Spring seems pretty far distant. However, if you hope to receive your seeds in time for planting season, you need to order them now. I ordered basil, parsley, and chard, plus some rhubarb roots that I’m hoping will do well, since I do miss Minnesota rhubarb (and my Grandma Emily’s pies).
Be well. Be blessed. Be a blessing.
