Thursday, February 13, 2014

Be Careful What You Wish For

The Oak outside my kitchen window. The limbs,
heavy with ice, are dragging the ground. This was early in the ice storm.
 
I know, I know....I was wishing for more winter weather in the form of snow and 20 degree temps, but not ice and not power outages and tree limbs down and messes to clean. For crying out loud, not that!!

Winter Storm Pax..........akin to a hurricane in that we were left with downed limbs over power lines, through roofs, on roofs, around the yard, across roads.....we were left with no power and no water. And like any disaster, we also experienced neighbors, friends and family checking on and helping each other, sharing food if they saw a need. Or offers of a hot shower (if they were lucky enough to have power and water) and some help in cleaning up the debris.

A few differences....it's cold (a wet cold, the worst kind) instead of 150 degrees Fahrenheit with 100% humidity. We do have ways of staying warm, though - be it a fireplace, lots of blankets, space heaters that use kerosene (dangerous by the way) or warming centers set up at the elementary school. We don't have to worry so much about the food going bad since it's in the 30's outside, unless the outages linger. And we won't have to deal with the gargantuan mosquitos the size of helicopters that arrive a few days after a hurricane.

We have a mess to clean up. I had a beautiful oak tree just outside my kitchen window that is now riddled. It had many huge limbs to break off, one of which landed on my roof. There was minor damage. Mama, however, was not so lucky. She had a pine limb about the size of a half dollar come completely through her roof into one of the bedrooms. She's fine...a little upset that she had to leave her home. But with all those pines around her home, it was way too dangerous to let her stay there. She is at my sister's home and a good thing too because she along with everyone else in our town not only lost power and water, but her phone service.

Here, I will leave you with a few of the pictures I took from inside the house looking out. I wouldn't dare go outside to take them for fear of being impaled by a flying pine or oak limb. We will be busy cleaning up for the next few days. Hope everyone affected will be safe and warm and that their electricity will be restored soon. I will post more about Winter Storm Pax, I'm sure. It's a rare occasion for us. The story needs to be told.

***These photos were taken with my cell phone, so the quality is not the best.

More of the Oak.

Still more......

The beauty of this in real life is far better than this photo shows...

Broken limb from the Oak ....

Another view, and very minor damage.

Seed pods on a crepe myrtle.

The quality is lacking here as I had to zoom way in to get this Cardinal.
 
Just so pretty.

And pretty still.
 
 
So, I guess the next time I go wishing for more winter weather....I'll need to be more specific. Ice is pretty, but so dangerous. We are not equipped in the south for this type weather, really I don't know who could be. Snow is one thing, which for us can be crippling. But ice, that's a whole other ballgame.
 
More later,
Laurie





10 comments:

  1. Pretty and scary, all at the same time...stay safe, my friend. Happy Valentine's Day - Tanya

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  2. Scary. Yeah, ice is bad everywhere.

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  3. ohmygosh! so glad your Mom is safe as well everyone else. we had snow, 1.5 feet on the ground with drifts of 3 feet. today is sunny...thank God...no wind...thank God...and no snow...thank God... I *have* to go to town and not looking forward to it so must get on my glad rags and GO!

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  4. OMG! Pretty and yet so scary and dangerous! xoxo Jen

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  5. I hope the worst is over. I would much rather battle snow than ice. We have tons of pines at our home..but they aren't around the house. What's funny is I need a new roof and always joke about hoping for a little damage so insurance will pay for a new one! I usually say "just kidding"..but this might be an instance where I'm hoping to get what I ask for! Stay safe and if you're like us, temps will be rising soon! I can't wait to see 40de again!

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  6. I know winter can be a pain when you get stuck at home, or when it feels it's not coming to an end, but a landscape full of snow is always amazing and beautiful! Especially for those that expect snow but got none yet!

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  7. Your poor live oak tree, Laurie! I hope it grow back as beautiful as before. A favorite tree in our yard, the eucalyptus, got pretty messed up. We hope it will spring back, but it looks pretty pitiful now.

    I loved the snow we had, but ice storms are nothing to be happy about. Our power came back on after about 36 hours, but our daughter, Angela, and her family had to stay with us for days and most of the food in their inside fridge had to be thrown out. The kids here are finally going back to school tomorrow.

    I hope you have power now and that things are returning to normal for you and your family and that you will have a good week ahead, dear friend!

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  8. We lost a few fruit trees some years ago due to an ice storm -- sorry about your damage and power loss. Hope all is resolved soon.

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  9. Seeing your lovely photos makes me homesick for Georgia. Crepe myrtles, live oaks, and cardinals!

    Emily at backtothecraft.blogspot.ca

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    1. Oh Emily, I'm so sorry you're homesick. But, if my pictures help, stay tuned. I post pictures from around the south all the time. Thanks for stopping by!

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