Lucky

Last night while walking my dog I was reminded of the power of nature. After two days of ice and rain, although our county was lucky, ice coated everything from trees, to grass to the power lines turning the world into a glistening icy wonderland.

It’s truly an eerie sound when you stand in your yard and you can hear the branches crackling. The crackle sound comes from the ice as the wind shifts the branches, cracking the ice. The sounds echo from tree to tree and you never know when or where a tree might snap. It’s not a fun sound as I look at my 3-pound poodle and realize I should avoid any area that has trees. Even a small branch would end in tragedy if they landed on her.

Once I got Mayiah safely inside I went back out to just stand, look and listen. The trees glistened in what remained of the day’s light. Even the bird feeders had icicles hanging from them. It was pretty and I made sure I snapped a few photos of the feeders. It was already too dark to photograph the trees.

Even today when the brunt of the storm is over, there is still a risk of power outages here. The ice is still on the trees and lines. If the wind comes up, branches will be snapped. It won’t be a pretty picture.

So, yeah, we were lucky. Other Kansans weren’t so lucky. Tens of thousands of people are without power and with temperatures in the 20s, it’s not pleasant to be out of power.

I have to commend our highway crews and city and county officials as I write this. They did a wonderful job keeping the roads passable and keeping the public informed. And they let me call them at 6 a.m. to ask about the weather. I am very appreciative of all their help.

Well, time to head to work now. The day started early and likely will end late. Another day. Another dollar. And hopefully no more ice.