Texas Ice

No snow this time - just ice!  I believe this is our third major winter storm this season and Mother Nature just keeps punching most of the country right in the gut, right where it hurts.  Having lived in the mountains of Arizona for seven years at 7,000 feet elevation I've at least had some exposure to winter conditions unlike most Texans.  I tend to chuckle when I see schools announcing closures the day before and when I hear all the chatter at the beauty shop about how cold it is and the fact that someone may have seen (or at least imagined) some snow flurries! Granted, most of us folk don't know how to drive in this kind of weather, nor do our high departments have the proper equipment to deal with it.

This morning I had a routine visit to my doctor's office scheduled for a blood draw.  In this office all blood draws are done on a first come/first serve basis between 8 and 9 a.m.  The only appointment you have is for the date, not the time. Upon awakening I decided the winter storm which rolled in last night with sleet and freezing rain shouldn't keep me from this necessity, and I sent a text to a friend who works for the Nacogdoches Police Department and who leaves home for work at 5:30 a.m. asking about the road conditions.  She advised there were some slick spots on our Farm to Market road but the major highway was clear.  My biggest problem was dealing with the rather thick layer of ice that covered my truck but I figured that would loosen up with a little bit of warming.  Of course I needed the strength of Atlas to force the door open.  It was frozen tight but with with some continual pulling and huffing and puffing I finally snapped the ice's grip and the door finally opened.  It took almost a half-hour with the heather and defroster blowing until I felt I could safely see out the windshield to start the trip.

The pine trees were the worst victims.  Their narrow branches can't hold much weight so they were pretty droopy under all that ice.

The little trees at a local Christmas tree farm looked like they were getting ready for another holiday season.

I arrived at the doctor's office at 8:45.  It seems that I was the only one brave enough to weather the storm.  Everyone else was either a no-show or had called to cancel.  They were so unprepared for my arrival that I had to wait almost 15 minutes while they got their act together.  I also had a bone density scan scheduled, which I didn't even know about, and I had to wait for the machine to warm up. Thirty seconds after completing that, the power went off!

 
Shortly after returning home the sun came out and the melting began and the sun's rays on all those glistening trees was absolutely magical.  I don't know how to properly capture such a scene, but the cows were certainly impressed that I came out the see their winter wonderland.

The rest of the day was bright with temps in the mid-40s and here in Deep East Texas we're hoping to reach the 60s by the weekend.  So all we big tough Texans got our little taste of winter and life should return to normal soon.  For the rest of you who have thick ice or deep snow or blizzard winds or power outages, my thoughts are with you.  Stay warm and safe, friends!