There is little in this winter world that is more destructive then an ice storm...and little that is more beautiful….the way the tree branches are coated with the glimmer of ice…each fragile branch surrounded and encased with the hard edges of ice. It is stark and amazingly beautiful.

But it is destructive even with all this beauty. There are already large limbs down in our yard, our old soft maples can't take the weight especially with wind.  I figure there will be more by sunrise tomorrow when the storm should have moved on into Ohio and moving toward points east.

I went out earlier to see the damage and, as usual, I ended up wandering around taking in the winter sights and sounds in a space I know so well…my own yard. The snow has nestled in the rows of the hay field, to the west, creating lines reminiscent of parallel cross-country trails. The birds have moved up to the yard from the back woods, at least they do so during the day, on days when the feeders are full. A pair of noisy blue jays lord over the groundfeeders driving smaller birds off so the bullies can grab the peanuts before the littler guys can get their fill. None of them seem to realize there is enough for all of them…I have more in the potting shed ready to refill the feeders when it is needed.

Some of the neighborhood wildlife has moved in closer to human habitation as well…the mangiest raccoon I have ever seen is living in our old garage. It comes out on warmer – a relative term if ever there was one – afternoons to sun itself near the door and lick its nether regions in the sun. For some strange reason it seems to like sitting in the electric watering bowl…which makes me glad that the state doesn’t check the sanitation of our serving area. LOL It will be enjoying our hospitality for a few more days until hubby is well enough to take care of it...it's a non-paying guest who has clearly worn-out it's welcome.

The feral cats stalk the bird feeders or try to chase the resident outdoor felines away from their Little Friskies when I put out their morning and evening bowls. One of the feral cats, an almost duplicate of one of my house cats, has taken to spending hours laying in my ground critter feeder…a small trough about two feet long with 10 inch sides. He seems to think that he has the advantage in catching birds from that location…I don’t think anyone has told him that sitting on the bird's food is not the best place to be if you want to spring out and surprise them. LOL

Oh well…more ice tonight and more snow…so tomorrow should bring more interesting sights and sounds in the yard.

p.s. The picture is not from my yard, rather it was taken in Bloomington somewhere near campus from the look of it. I swipped this from one of the Indianapolis television stations webpages, WTHR Channel 13.

Posted by prolurkr at February 13, 2007 06:48 PM

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