Winter weather is upon us

Winter weather can be scary. I'm hoping that isn't the case today and tomorrow with Winter Storm Cleon...

As I write at my desk next to a window, an icy rain is falling. It is noisier than the usual precipitation as frozen pellets bounce along the ground and bombard the remaining red oak leaves still attached to branches and twigs. There is a kerplunk every time ice chunks hit the metal surface of the heat pump just below my window. The poor thing is working hard to crank out enough heat to warm the house even as it gets pelted from the frozen rain falling from a near colorless sky. Work harder I say, since it is never quite warm enough in the winter for my liking.

This atmospheric onslaught is the first of what promises to be a long couple of days, according to the experts who meticulously study their computer models. I fear they may be right, as the coating of ice is covering most of the ground now and drops of liquid has frozen in place, defying gravity as it hangs from every surface. Parts of the trees are now frozen in place, stiffly moving as a unit when a breeze blows, rather than as individual leaves, branches, and twigs. The wind seems to be picking up a little too. That isn't good.

This is the kind of weather we in the Ozarks have been dreading.

Arkansas' 2009 ice storm was pretty devastating to trees and shrubs

No one wants a repeat of the dreaded ice storm a few years ago that left so many of us without power for days. My husband and I didn't have electricity for five days. The ice storm was one of the worst things I'd ever seen. The damage was widespread. We still have some damaged trees on our property. I hope it doesn't get this bad!

The latest word from the weather watchers is that the temperature is continuing its downward spiral. The result will be that the icing turns to snow. We could get a significant amount of it too.

Snow is OK with me, just as long as it doesn't become excessive. All things in moderation...

 I hope I can provide a weather update tomorrow or the next day. That would require electricity, which I hope we still have. For all the people in the way of Winter Storm Cleon, stay safe and warm.

For me, winter storm "Q" stands for quiescent

The most recent winter storm was well warned--or was that hyped? For many parts of the country from the southwest to the southern plains to the east coast, there was a real need for preparedness. For my neck of the woods though--the land of little precipitation--hype more aptly describes the dire warnings that emptied store shelves of bread, milk, and water.

I'm not complaining, mind you. I recall the ice storm a few years ago that caused our power to be out for five days and made my husband John and I return to a kind of pioneer lifestyle. There was fear that this storm could pack a similar punch. Thankfully, it didn't.

What did happen during this storm could be described as some minor inconveniences. We just bought a new stove, since ours was on its last legs after 30 years. It was supposed to be delivered Thursday. Fat chance! We now have to wait an entire week to get it. I hope the factory warranty begins the day we receive it and not the day we bought it. Who know--those few days could make a difference? We will just have to make due with the old one and hope it doesn't set the house on fire.

We also were without television for a short time while the dark clouds that contained thunder sleet parked overhead for a time. That was slightly bothersome, but to be expected.

The one thing about our version of winter storm Q, was that it transformed our normally mundane winter landscape into something spectacular, peaceful, beautiful. While not exactly good for the trees, it provided moisture which they so desperately needed. And, it was beautiful. Waking up this morning, the backyard was especially lovely.

The sun is shining and the ice is visibly and vigorously melting. I can see and hear it as I write this. Soon the trees will stand up straight again. So many of their ice-encrusted buds will grow. Many of the branches on the bushes lining the backyard are redbuds. They will soon fill the above view with pink. Soon the hand on that thermometer will register a more reasonable setting. Spring, which is just 26 days away, is my very favorite time of year. From now until the heat of summer begins, every day seems magical as the landscape reawakens. Its progress is measurable. Life is good!