Pictures of latest ice storm.

[catspaw66]

These were taken this morning.

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

This is how thick the ice was. I chipped this chunk out of the road in front of my property.

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

At the end of the driveway looking West into the Ouchita National Forest.

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

At end of driveway, looking East. The property line runs North just beyond the clump of trees on the right side of the electric wires.

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

Same view, from the road instead of the driveway.

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

From the clump of pines looking back West again. My driveway is the one that goes to the right and beyond that is National Forest.

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• catspaw66
• Mar 3, 2014

Looking North into my woods.

"Whose woods these are I think I know"  - Robert Frost

 

[jcat]

What is it with the crazy weather this year? I knew your place was isolated, but couldn't quite imagine it until I saw the photos.That must be pure bliss most of the time, but not with such ice.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

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• MoochNNoodles
• Mar 3, 2014

 

[catspaw66]

Isolated is right. The nearest neighbor is almost half a mile away. So is the dumpster I put my trash in.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

My husband would love to be that isolated...just in the mountains! I tell him maybe when we retire! I did go out by just opening our garage door. It is really slick under the snow. DH shoveled the driveway after that. I'm not sure how much ice there is but it's more than the trace they called for.

Did you lose power at all?

 

[catspaw66]

No.

 

[mani]

Wow, @catspaw66, that looks awfully bleak and amazingly beautiful at the same time!  I do hope you're able to keep snuggley warm.  Are the ladies extra friendly?  I know my two get very affectionate in the cooler weather.

@MoochNNoodles, they are stunning photos!  I know the bird is probably very well known where you are, but not so familiar to me... is it a woodpecker?

 

[Winchester]

Terry, your pictures are just beautiful. I fell in love with your woods. Such beauty there.

Mani, Mooch's lovely pictures are of a cardinal. I love to see them flitting about in our weigela bushes. Our weigelas are close to the house, so I can stand at the sink window in the kitchen and watch them. You can see their color so clearly in all the brown and white of the yard. We have two cardinals in the area, both of them are males....at least I think they're both males. I believe the females aren't so bright in color, they're more drab. 

 

[catspaw66]

 
Wow, @catspaw66, that looks awfully bleak and amazingly beautiful at the same time!  I do hope you're able to keep snuggley warm.  Are the ladies extra friendly?  I know my two get very affectionate in the cooler weather.

Unless the wood stove is going, the ladies all try to get as close to me as possible when it is cold. Spice loves to burrow under the covers, and nibble on my feet. Julie, Silly and Sheba all try to be the 'cat in the middle' when they snuggle up against me. And Sugar walks back and forth on my chest, rubbing her head on my nose.

So, yes they get extra friendly.

 

[feralvr]

Hi Terry WOW what a beautiful, private setting you live in. I think ice storms are so much more damaging than the snow storms. I am glad that you didn't lose power. Seems to be the never ending winter for all of us this year. I hope the ladies are keeping you nice and warm AND that you are feeling well.

Mooch - beautiful photo of the Cardinals. We have many that visit our bird feeders this time of year. So gorgeous against the white snow background.

 

[catspaw66]

No.

Sorry about this short answer. I was soaking in the tub and the Nook Color started acting up. Now for a longer answer. 

The trees never started breaking and falling, so no outages for my area. There were some outages in Mena and Booneville, though. I think our co-op did a better job in removing anything that would come down. My friend in Florida says that probably anything that would have come down, did come down on Dec 5, in that ice storm.  I think also that the trees being in bud helped strengthen the branches. There was no time for the sap to start freezing since the temp the day before was in the upper 60F range. If you look at the picture of me holding the ice, you will notice that there is some liquid mud on one part of the bottom. The ground never did freeze.

 

[sneakymom]

Catspaw- Those are such pretty pictures. 

Mooch- I love the cardinal pictures too. We have a lot of them visiting our feeders. 

I am so over this weather.  Sunday it was 70.  Then overnight it got cold.  It started to sleet.  It sleeted at first- I told a couple of my friends it was like walking on a slushee.  Then we got an inch or so of snow on top of that Monday night.  Schools were closed Monday, like we need any more snow days to make up. 

So then Tuesday everything was shut because there was this snow/ice/slush all over the roads.  It got warm enough that it did melt by the afternoon. 

But then- we had this fine icy mist last night.  Coated the cars with ice.  Coated the roads with some, and whatever didn't melt off the roads re froze. 

This morning's commute was a mess.  Dh left the house at 6:30 and it still took him almost 2 hours to get in, and it's a 30 minute drive.  Ok- some of that was spent at Panera b/c he got fed up with the traffic and decided to have a bagel.  Dd said she didn't "feel" like driving her car.  Which is ok with me.  It had problems over the weekend, and as dh was looking at it he pointed out the 2 front tires that are almost bald. 

  Not exactly the safest thing for a driver who hasn't even had her licence for a year yet to drive in even the best conditions.  I took her and a friend in- the 3 miles I drove to school the roads were fine. 

I'm hoping now that the mess is cleared up.  I have to go back over to school shortly and pick her up.  She's in a magnet arts school in the afternoon, and the orchestra she's in has a side by side concert tonight with the local symphony orchestra.  It should be ok- though the kids are stressing because they missed the ONLY other rehersal they would have had with this group yesterday.

Cheryl

 

[MoochNNoodles]

 
. I believe the females aren't so bright in color, they're more drab. 

Yes they are more drab.  Generally female birds are a more diluted version of the males I believe.  And I think cardinals generally stay in pairs.  The female was at the feeder later in the day but I dont think I got a picture.  I have them nest in the area and I've seen the juveniles at the feeder in the summer.  It's so funny to see that even birds go through an awkward teenage stage!

  One year we had quite a few cardinals in the area.  Last year they were much more scarce.  My grandparents always had at least one bird feeder in the yard and bird houses.  They were the ones who taught me what birds are what kind.  The cardinal was the easiest to learn with the bright red coloring.  I've been collecting Christmas ornaments to represent every member of my family.  My Grandpa's is a glass cardinal.  I also have a porcelain snowman with a little cardinal sitting on his carrot nose.  I'd like to add some bird houses to the yard this spring!

That's great you never lost my power!  Since we moved to a more rural area thats always on my mind.  I never considered how losing power would mean losing water out here until it happened.  DD was a newborn and we had 2 blizzards over a week's time.  I'm still wanting to research having a wood stove installed!  I did notice we have some green branches as well.  No significant budding.  DD and I made a snowman yesterday and the sticks I grabbed from our brush pile were green.  I had a hard time breaking them to make the facial features of the snowman.

 

[catspaw66]

Yes, no power means no running water. I can still dip it out of one of the sand filters with a bucket. I have 3 specifically for that purpose. When all are full, I can flush the toitie 3 or 4 times. I put them in the bathtub when they are full, and the cats like to sit on the edge of the tub and play with the water, which usually has a few pine needles in it from knocking them into the sand filter.

 

[AbbysMom]

That's a lot of ice! It looks pretty. I'm glad you didn't lose power. I hope the roads and such are passable by now.

 

[catspaw66]

That's a lot of ice!

It looks pretty. I'm glad you didn't lose power. I hope the roads and such are passable by now.

Yes, they are. If you can call 3 inches of mud on every dirt road passable.

"If directions to your house include the words 'turn off the paved road', you might be a redneck"  - Jeff Foxworthy

I am a hippie refugee from the 70s, and guess his statement makes me a redneck hippie.

 

[catspaw66]

The same road taken yesterday from the same vantage points.

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• catspaw66
• Mar 7, 2014

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• catspaw66
• Mar 7, 2014

 

[catspaw66]

By the way, my "yard" is over 1.1 million square feet.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That looks much nicer! 

So how many acers is 1.1million square feet?

 

[catspaw66]

A little less than 26.