Gate City Gazette: March 2014

   Last week it was over 70 degrees and many trees and plants were starting to bud. It's March and Spring is almost here, winter is nearly gone. But not yet. Yesterday evening we were hit with plunging temperatures and the first ice storm that I have seen in years. It sleeted all night and most of today, mixed with freezing rain and snow. The ice accumulated and began weighing down the trees in our area. As the trees fall, they take down aerial power lines and cause transformers to explode. In Guilford County alone, there were over 130,000 homes without power. We were fortunate and did not lose our power but we talked with several friends and family who did. The storm continued until the temperature again rose above the freezing mark and the ice began to melt this afternoon.
   We used it as one last opportunity to open up the Cherylina Snow Critter Café. In her wisdom, Cheryl covered the table and ringed it with chairs to protect it from the ice and sleet. Everything worked well until the icy limbs began to crack and break and fall onto the deck. We sat in the house and listened as we heard loud snaps and pops coming from all sides of the house. We heard a shudder and then a crash as a large tree in our neighbors yard came crashing down. Then loud crackling and a loud impact on the deck as a large limb fell across the table on the deck. In a few minutes, another followed. I stepped outside to examine the damage and was nearly hit by three more limbs snapping and falling onto the deck steps. By this time the temperature was rising above freezing, but the accumulation had already taken it's toll.
   The final stroke occurred as I was watching out an upstairs window and saw a large pine in my yard just slowly topple onto the fence as it uprooted out of the ground. It was like slow motion, but it made a thud as it propped itself on it's upper limbs and rested on the fence. A few hours later, I trimmed the limbs off my neighbor's driveway and picked up as many limbs as I could in the yard. It is a real mess, but it will soon be melted away. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 60 and Sunday is forecasted for 65 degrees. I suspect that the trees and shrubs that survive will start to bud again. After all, Spring is just around the corner!

The Cherylina Snow Critter Cafe