Ice Damage

Yesterday the temperature rose well above freezing, and the ice started to melt. For me, that meant I could actually get beyond the icy surrounds of the cabin and explore the edges of the woods a little.

As you can see from this early morning photo, here are two trees where the weight of the ice-covered branches ended up splitting the trees. I also lost a juniper bush or tree that came with the cabin. I'm sure I'll find many more downed trees when I can finally get deeper into the woods.

Nonetheless, I am glad to see this ice start to melt. I love snow, but ice and I don't mix well. Dog and I almost had a half-decent walk this morning, marred slightly by a fall I took on a small patch of ice that I didn't see in the pre-dawn gloom. Dog rushed over to make sure I was okay (I was), and licked my face, which was thoughtful but didn't do much to help me get to my feet again.

With the melting ice comes mud, which ranks perhaps one step below (or is that above?) ice on the list of things I don't care for. Anyway, ice is #1 on my list of things I don't like, but mud is #2. I think I'd put wind at #3 (high winds in the forest can make for a scary situation). Mud ranks especially high on my annoyance meter, though it doesn't come with the danger of ice and wind. Mud and ice together are the worst, which is what I have at the moment. Sometimes the joys of cabin life are a bit dimmed by the weather, but I still wouldn't trade it for anythhing.