Ice Storm

Thursday:

Let the real adventure begin!
No Transportation.
No Power.
No work for Steve.

We awoke to what looked like a frozen lake in our back yard. As the local weather people promised, our winter wonderland of snow was replaced by ice. It was almost otherworldly. While over a foot of snow turned into heavy ice made getting anywhere and frolicking for fun nearly impossible, I enjoyed marveling at the sight and practicing my photography-a nice activity NOT dependent upon electricity (which I attempted from the comforts of my kitchen, cracking the window just wide enough for my camera lens and snapping each shot quickly so as to let the least amount of freezing air into our already freezing cold house). This kept me busy most of the morning!
As the initial shock and awe wore off, we began to realize the negative affects this heavy snow turned ice really was having on our surroundings. Our immediate dwelling fared pretty well, the neighborhood itself was a bit worse off. In the days that preceeded, we witnessed the devastation that occurred all around town. Sure, it could have been worse. A lot worse. But, tell that the trees that were wounded and lost during the ice war that lasted for several days. We'll recover. Some plants and trees will recover. Some, sadly, will not. Nature's way, I guess. Survival of the fittest. Natural selection. Global warming?!

Our poor Dogwood. The ice took care of pruning for us!

It wasn't until Steve headed out the back to survey the neighborhood that he realized, we really were trapped at home. The Birch tree next to our garage didn't fare so well. Likely, it won't be with us much longer.

I enjoyed seeing the ice up close, however. After surveying the premise and determining it safe enough, I ran to grab my camera. Every limb encased in a 1/4 inch of ice is, well, if nothing else, quite lovely to look at.

As the day progressed, the temperatures begin to rise and the melting began.

Friday:
Everything got really drippy and messy!
Still no power.
Cooking with the camp stove via lamp and candle light.

Depending on who you talk to, this was not feeling quite as much fun any more.

While we were waiting patiently for power, I had to dig deep into my bag of tricks to keep our family entertained. I actually found this to be a fun task and I brought out some "old" toys and had Peyton find a hidden "new" game to help us pass the time. My tricks worked. We had a great day and made our meals by candlelight quite enjoyable. So enjoyable that Peyton has even told us "I want the electricity to be off again." I kind of choked a moment when I first heard this. We made it so much fun, that he was hoping for more. So, to make dinner and bed time more fun (and hopefully elicit more help with both) we have since turned off all the lights (on a couple of occasions) to recreate "Ice Storm 2012." I think this activity may go onto our family fun list, or perhaps our next family fort night we'll be in the dark!

Richard Scarry's "Busytown - Eye found it!" game kept us plenty busy.
Bundled up and keeping warm. Even Allie got to try out a new gadget for entertainment purposes.

Saturday:
Power back on at our place.
Survey the damage around our neighborhood.

In the hood.

The road leading out of our neighborhood.

The road running alongside our neighborhood.


Let the clean-up begin.

Heading out to the Parr house to clear the road and clear their property (Grandma and Grandma were in Hawaii, poor things, and missed the whole snowy affair).

Sunday:

Waiting
and watching the snow very slowly melt away

Monday:
An impromptu play date with friends.

Look at all that snow still!

Taking advantage of a break in the weather and enjoying a brief walk around the neighborhood (our dear friends passed the morning and at our house because they were were still seeking refuge from their very cold and very dark house).

Wednesday:
One week later - another welcome break in weather.
Still a surprising amount of snow.

Our little dude wishing on a pile of snow for another BIG winter storm.

We weathered the storm pretty well. Our little ones were flexible and adventurous. It turned out to be a mini stay-cation for our little family and was just exactly what we needed. It forced us all to unwind and recharge and made for wonderful family memories...

Ok, snow, melt already! I'm ready for warmer weather and sunnier skies!