Kay Wade
Ice. Snow. Bitter Cold.
The forecast could have been a meme, but being hit by a storm of ICE is no joking matter. After the deepest dark of last Saturday’s midnight, sleet pelted from the heavens, turned to rain, froze to hard cold ICE on every twig of every tree, every tree, foreign and domestic, on million dollar properties and on humble trailer lots, in state parks along the base of the Blue Wall, and in the Jocassee Gorges. “A worst case scenario” of ICE. The lights went out. Trees exploded under pressure, sharp cracks that made us flinch and tree top crashes waking us up long into the following night. ICE does not easily give up. Today’s warm melt becomes solid and slick when the sun goes down and cold creeps back across this good earth.
And yet so beautiful. When the dark night is over and sun warms away cold vaporous clouds, when trees are tipped with sparkling frozen diamonds against a clear, cold blue sky, when the light of day provides just enough warmth to melt ICE until it breaks apart, raining down like crystal shards. This weekend brings a rare 4-5″ of light, fluffy, beautiful snow… same element, but oh, so different!
Stay warm, ya’ll, and stay safe. ~K