This was not supposed to be today’s post. There were several others in the works. A timely update on progress inside the icehouse. And a meandering meditation on *reinvention*, specifically how it pertains to us — Susan, Rosslyn, and me — and why reinventing has become an enduring pillar for this project. But nature had other plans, so I offer you a compact photo essay about today’s windy winter storm instead.
Let’s start with a cinematic snapshot that Pam took this afternoon. Lots. Of. Snow. Incredibly heavy, wet snow. When she took this photo, the wind was still not such a big concern. But, as you’ll see by the end of this post, that changed in the late afternoon and early evening.
Although it snowed all day, it wasn’t until mid day that the snow really began to accumulate. Not sure how many inches we’ve gotten so far, but I would imagine it’s pretty close to 24 inches of the wettest, densest snow I’ve experienced in quite some time. I can only imagine how deep it would’ve been if the conditions were drier.
Heavy snowfalls transform even the most familiar landscapes and lawn ornaments. In the snapshot above our tractor is dwarfed by the snow.
While I was in the icehouse, inspecting the days work, I heard a monumental thud. It was far too loud and reverberating to be snow sliding off the standing seam roof, a soundtrack we’ve become accustomed to over the course of the day.
When I came out to inspect, I discovered a massive ash tree split in half by the combined weight of snow and the pressure of wind building out of the north-northwest.
Boom!
Looking up the trunk from the base of the tree, it’s almost uncanny how precisely the falling tree targeted the icehouse. Fortunately, it wasn’t quite long enough to hit the building. But the proximity explains the reverberation I felt when the tree hit the ground.
As you can see, years, even decades of rot had formed in the crotch of the two tree trunks. This week spot inevitably succumbed to the wind and snow load. I suspect we will need to fell the rest of the tree as well, but I’ve decided to postpone that melancholy consideration and decision for another day.
Instead, I’ll push positive vibes out to the weather gods this evening. In the screen grab above you can see that the winds are still mounting (with gusts up to 45 mph overnight.) So there’s still cause for concern. That said, I suspect that worrying is unlikely to alter the forces of nature. Instead I think I’ll join my wife and nephew for a glass of wine and a delicious dinner to celebrate the cross-country ski outing from which we have just returned.
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