The Big Ice Storm

Last weekend we had a severe ice storm in Vermont, which was reputed to be the worst in 60 years. The drive up was sleeting and we were lucky to arrive at the cabin with no drama. The next day I backed the car out of the driveway to put it in the garage, and got stuck on the icy road. Conveniently we had kitty litter and shovels so were able to get it moving, but that was the first time I've ever had that happen on a flat road.

Here you can see a tree that has collapsed, blocking the one lane road to the cabin. It had the triple whammy of knocking out power, blocking passage, and keeping plow/repair crews from getting up valley. This is why we had to use the sled, as you'll see later.

It was quite cold, and with the loss of power, we had to rely on our wood stove. Here the cats are sharing the fire; normally they won't cohabit the cushion pictured but it was so cold they set aside that eternal squabble for a weekend. The rooms were much colder without the ceiling fans circulating the heat.

Here you can see how the ice has glazed every last branch of the mulberry tree in the front yard. As the ice accumulates, the weight on the twigs builds up, eventually snapping off the older and weaker ones, a form of natural pruning. Unfortunately this process causes power lines to go down, and roads to get blocked.

Fortunately we were prepared, with a supply of gallon water jugs in the basement for both consumption and plumbing. We also used some of our stock of emergency flashlights and candles, which were lit extensively, since darkness falls early near the winter solstice time of year. Here we heated some canned food on the woodstove, along with water for tea and hot chocolate. Once we got more organized, we pulled out the Weber and grilled some Korean style ribs, zucchini slices, with baked beans on the side.

Here's another mist frosted bush in the yard. Note how much the branches of the evergreens are drooping, weighed down by snow/ice/sleet. We use fireplace ashes, emptied each weekend into plastic buckets, for times like this when the walks and drives need something to add traction over the ice.

Here's the powerline that was down on our road. This was also on a blind curve, so when we encountered this we were alarmed. We saw car tracks over it, so determined that it couldn't be live, and passed it...but not without a little trepidation.

Because the last part of our road was too icy to safely drive, we loaded our chattels on a sled and glided down the road for the journey home. Fortunately our travel box and bag fit on it perfectly, with one of the cats riding on top. You can see his eyes peering nervously out of his travel bag.

This is a berry bush, coated with ice, sparkling in the clear sun.