Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Monday, February 23, 2015

Part II of our Weather Week to Remember ----Feb. 17, 2015

Icy Trees --after the 1st storm on 2/16  (Lots of trees and limbs down --but luckily,  not in our yard)
I had been complaining about us not having much of a winter here in our area of Tennessee this year----UNTIL this past week...  HA---Mother Nature showed me who is BOSS!!!!!  AND--it's not ME!  All I wanted was a little snow this winter..

SO--Mama Nature gave me a little snow ---and much, much more... First,  she gave us an ICE STORM (2/16)... If you missed that blog post,  click HERE.

The ONE good thing to come out of a week like we had is that we got LOTS of gorgeous photos... I'll share more of them today and in more upcoming posts.

Hope you enjoy some of the pictures I took the day AFTER our ice storm (2/17/15).  Be sure to click on the pictures for enlargements.


One of our Holly Bushes covered with ICE



Looking out in our front yard --toward the street;   As you can tell,  we got a LOT of ice,  some sleet and a little snow.  VERY SLICK outside!



Our poor LARGE Rhododendron Bush;  It is really struggling.  Luckily our deck rail and bird bath are helping to hold the icy Rhody...  Hope the branches don't break.  I love this big bush and it is filled with BUDS... Now I wonder what will happen to it!



Here's another close-up of some of our ICY trees.  The one on the right is our Pink Dogwood....The others are in the empty lot across the street.



A close-up of one of our Holly Bushes filled with ICE



Looking out our driveway the morning of 2/17; That is TOTAL ice under a layer of sleet and a tiny bit of snow... Pretty---but very very slick;
The morning after the Ice Storm,  our community sent out emails telling people NOT to go out due to the horribly slick roads.  The community was busy cleaning up branches and downed trees first before they could 'tackle' the roads--trying to clean them off some.  BUT--the ice really was the worst thing we could have had...   Needless to say,  George and I did NOT go anywhere that day!  We did enjoy taking pictures --so I hope you enjoyed them  today.....

Remember also that along with this ice/sleet/freezing rain/snow,  we had extremely frigid temperatures ALL WEEK.  We were below zero  (F) a couple of days --and one day the HIGH temperature was only about 10 degrees... From Monday,  Feb. 16, until Saturday, Feb. 21----we were below freezing the ENTIRE time.  SO---any ICE or SNOW we got all week just stayed with us the entire week... NOTHING melted --even when the sun came out... Crazy!!!!! 

SO---what comes next???  You will just have to wait and see what happened the next day--on Wednesday,  2/18!!!!!  AND then---there's MUCH more....We had a whopper of a storm on Saturday.  This one took our power out for 50 hours... What a WEEK.  More pictures to come! You just won't believe it!!!!!

Hugs,

54 comments:

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

Oh dear that must have been awful but the good part was you got these gorgeous photographs. No power for 50 hours can't be much fun either. Stay safe and warm.

Ms. A said...

I was so glad to hear your power came back on! I think we were without power for 9 days after Ike and we were lucky. Many were without for much longer. We didn't have to worry about being cold, but we sure missed the AC, since it was hot.

Hope you have minimal damage when you get thawed out.

Fun60 said...

The pictures are amazing but those conditions look horrendous. Can't think of anything worse than being without power in such freezing conditions. Today is my last day in Mexico. It is 4am and I can't sleep because I am too hot!

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

This makes me so glad I live way down here.

I look forward to seeing what else winter brought you. :-)

Hope you have a warmer week and that some of the ice and snow melts.

Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

eileeninmd said...

Hello Betsy, I am sorry you had such a bad ice storm. I know how much damage it does to the plants and trees. And not having power is awful too. I've been there and it is no fun! I am glad you and George were safe and things are returning to normal. Have a happy day!

Linda P said...

Glad to know that you and George and your community are safe and well. You're being very positive, but it can't be easy as ice storms and freezing conditions are so dangerous.

From the Kitchen said...

So glad that you and George came through o.k.! Not much anyone can do on/or about ice but stay off it if possible. I know you were happy when the electricity came back on!!

Best,
Bonnie

Out on the prairie said...

They say not to knock the ice off bushes. It can weigh down and snap big branches.

Jeevan said...

Hope the situation turns better now Betsy! I can’t even image surviving or even breathing such lower in degree... you all got great ability to withstand. I also read about the state there in George’s blog and once again I convey my regards for the bad weather. How wonderful you took favor with the ice storm capturing fabulous photos! Wishes for quick normalcy

Tanna said...

The no power is especially bad in that kind of weather!!! Oh, Betsy! Stay warm and safe! blessings ~ tanna

Betsy said...

You are a trooper Betsy! Beautiful pictures, but very scary weather.
Blessings,
Betsy

linda m said...

As long as you and George are safe, that is all that matters. Such beauty in the midst of the storm. Keep safe.

Terri D said...

The ice is so pretty, but so dangerous! Glad you did not go out (beyond taking photos) and that your power finally came back on! You sure got your winter!! :)

The Furry Gnome said...

Sorry about the ice storm, but even sorrier to hear about a long power outage! That's no fun. You got some beautiful pictures, but ice on the roads is dangerous! Coldest day of the winter here this morning, at -33C (-26F), but the sun is out.

Shug said...

So glad that your electricity is back on. This can sure make things miserable. The pictures are so pretty and the ice looks very heavy. Ice storms (while Beautiful) are dangerous and can be tricky at times. Hope there is not too much damage done to all of your gorgeous plants. Important thing is, that you all are safe and now warm. take care and don't go out tooo soon!

George said...

It's hard to believe that the girl who loves snow may have had enough of winter for one year. You sure got some beautiful pictures, though.

Linda Kay said...

Betsy, you can tell by the ice formations that there was a wind to accompany the ice storm. Great pictures of a very cold day!

Dorothy said...

Beautiful icy pictures! The weatherman forecast some of that for us, but he failed to deliver it! I was hoping for some snow, but looks like we won't get any this year.

MTWaggin said...

I was wondering if you got the mess! Now I know - and then some!

Small City Scenes said...

Well you all sure felt the wrath of Mother Nature. but you survived to talk about it. Several years ago we had not the same but similar few weeks in winter and then we had more snow that same year in April of all times. We were out of power for 2 weeks---only saying so you know the SUN will shine again and you will be WARM!!!
I did learn to sew by Kerosene light. No thanks!
Your pics are beautiful though. Ice storms are surely NO FUN!!
Take care and Bless the Lord.
MB

Sylvia K said...

Beautiful, icy, snowy pics!! Oh, and it does look SO cold!! It's been an amazing year weather wise here in Portland!! We've had one of the warmest winters on record!! Blue, blue skies, daytime temps in the 50s??? I'm surely not complaining, but it has been different!! This morning it is chilly, but the skies are blue and cloudless again and warm temps again for later in the day! Hope you have a great new week! Take care!!

Liene said...

Oh Betsy, I'm almost scared of what the next few days will bring - they are predicting snow! I guess as long as it isn't more ice... Sorry to hear you lost power, I hope it's back on and you're warm and toasty! Except for all the beautiful pictures and the boys' faces playing in the stuff, I wish spring would hurry up and get here!

Janice K said...

Wow...You really did get dumped on. The one thing I really like about retirement is that you don't have to go out--you can just stay in and enjoy the beauty around you.

We still have snow cover and wind chill advisories. I keep thinking, "March is just a week away." Sometimes March can be pretty warm--I hope so.

Anonymous said...

I am just blown away, Betsy. This definitely is filed under the heading, "Be careful what you ask for".

Ginny Hartzler said...

I am hoping that winter went out with a BANG, and now it is over! Spring in one month! You both have suffered with no electricity, but you made the best of it. I love the holly bush the best!

LV said...

We are covered in sleet, but nothing compared to you. My sister was without power for 50 hours as well.Trust your flowers will come back. Stay in and warm. I enjoy your sidebar quotes so much.

David said...

Betsy, Even with 'just' your first and second storm, you had significantly more ice than we did down here in the valley. I just heard that 19,000 households in Cumberland County are still without power since Saturday! Yikes! One of our local roads is still one way in places due to trees being across the road. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Arkansas Patti said...

Oh no, I was so afraid that you might have lost power. So glad it is back on. We never really appreciate it till it gets dark on us.
Ice storms are beautiful if destructive. Just snuggle you two love birds.
Stay safe and warm.

Ruth Hiebert said...

The pictures are beautiful,but I hate to think what kind of destruction comes with all that ice.

Elizabeth Edwards said...

i love the snowy shots over the icy ones. icy times are so scary for everyone. they are even calling for more snow this weekend. it could get more interesting again. we have shoveled our driveway 2 snow storms. it has about killed my back. and i always think i am moving and working very safely. i guess not. ( :

i meant to ask you how do you have computer/internet with no power. i saw you on FB all the time? so curious.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

More to come Betsy, We will be in the -F for the week at night. Tom

Roses and Lilacs said...

Hi Betsy, kind of a terrible beauty. We see videos of out of control cars on the news every morning. The south is having worse weather than the north. I hope this last round will be an end to this weather. We have more cold coming this way but (fingers crossed) no snow in the forecasts.

Ann Thompson said...

Everything always looks so pretty after an ice storm but I hate having to go out after one has come through and of course there is always worrying about the possible damage. Love all your pictures. I hope your Rhododendron is ok

happyone said...

Very pretty but ice can do so much damage.
I'd rather have a couple feet of snow than an inch of ice.

Connie said...

Pretty pictures, but I know how much damage all that ice can cause. Glad you are staying safe and warm.

carolina nana said...

Glad you all are okay. Thankfully Saturday's storm went above us after it slammed your area.
Now we are bracing for a bigger snow maybe mid week , we shall see !
Stay warm and safe
Blessings
Marilyn

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear you're both fin now after the power outage!

Gorgeous pictures of the ice.

Joy said...

I guess there is still beauty in the in ice storm Betsy:)

Lux G. said...

Winter could be so ruthless. But look at how great it looks on photos. :)

Manzanita said...

All that ice is beautiful and makes for some very interesting pictures BUT enough is enough and you people have had "more" than enough. Come On Spring.

Peaches McGinty said...

Oh my goodness Betsy!! as beautiful as the snow and ice is, it is also extremely treacherous, I'm so glad you stayed indoors, best place really! although if you had no power for 50 hours that must have been awful! I await with bated breath over your next installment, I hope you and George are coping x x x

I Am Woody said...

Glad the power is back on! Hope this next round swings south and misses you guys. I know you need a break!

Carletta said...

This has definitely been a cold bitter winter for many of us.
Trying to fill my feeders earlier I could hardly walk through the yard for the crunchy icy six inch mass it has become.
Icy shots are gorgeous though.
Stay warm!

Kay said...

Fifty hours of no power? Sheesh! That's terrible! March is almost here though. Granted that was no guarantee for us in Chicago! I wish I could send you some warmth from Hawaii.

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Ice. So pretty. So destructive. I'm glad you could just stay put. Hoping for a warm up for us all!

Beatriz said...

Hello Betsy
I've been following here the news of snowstorms in the US, br br br...
I really wouldn't like to be there at this time! It's unbelievable that your garden, so full of flowers and so colorful, is absolutely white! It's a different beauty, in a single color!

Take care of you and keep warm!

Bia <°))))<
www.biaviagemambiental.blogspot.com

Cheryl @ TFD said...

I'm glad you are okay and didn't have to get out. Ice makes for beautiful pictures, but is oh so dangerous. Even just walking outside your door isn't safe, so please be careful!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

A true Appalachian winter wonderland :)

Connie Arnold said...

Ice can be so dangerous, but what magnificent beauty it spreads on the landscape!

Rose said...

The weather made some beautiful scenes for sure. But I am thankful we did not have this. The bitter cold temps have been enough for me.

Anonymous said...

Hi Betsy, I had not heard from my tenant about a 50 hr. outage. Wow! I feel for you. Have a good day tomorrow and I hope your weather improves.

Andrea said...

Hello Betsy, that is so cold but very lovely. Regards to George.

diane b said...

It looks pretty but sounds awful. I think I prefer stinking hot weather. Going out in an air-conditioned car is no bother.

A Colorful World said...

Really gorgeous photos! Hope things will thaw out for you soon!