Encased

If a person can't get out at least one blog during a Level 3 Snow emergency, then he/she doesn't deserve the hallowed title of "blogger" - (or am I assuming too much about how highly esteemed bloggers are?) - so here are some thoughts from the snowy wilds of western Ohio.

Before the snow & wind brought us a much more conventional Winter storm, our area had one of the most interesting storms I had seen in my first 1/2 Century. To say that we were covered in ice last week would give the wrong impression. Over the course of a day it appeared that every vertical surface in our immediate vicinity had grown a quarter-inch of ice. Not just trees & fences, but individual blades of grass stood out with a clear, glass-like coating of ice. It looked as if it had been applied one molecule at a time.

One by-product of this storm was a massive power outage, lasting from several hours to a few days in our area. Another by-product was an incredible beauty shining through the crushing power of all that ice. The entire region is still littered with broken limbs & even some trees that split vertically all the way to the ground. Homeowners & Utilities officials can be seen, chainsaws in hand, sizing up some of the trees which have suffered the most severe damage. I hope they will not decide too quickly which trees are beyond help.

As the thaw progressed, hundreds of trees which had been bowed to the ground underwent a heroic transformation, recovering in ways which had appeared impossible. First the midday sun turned all those tapestries of ice to silver. Then, after more than a day encased completely in unimaginable weight, most of the trees endured, bent, and began to recover. This Spring, the ones that survive the chainsaw will bear their scars as a part of the story they have lived. If there's not some kind of lesson to be had there, we're not paying attention.

BLOG NOTE: If you are new to "Leaving Nadderby", I urge you to click on the "February 2008 " link & go to "Looking Back" as a place to begin. Continued thanks go out to all of the encouragers & forwarders who are helping me figure out this process.