"Now it's time for an ice breaker!" Usually the words are uttered by a perky individual at the front of a meeting room. About that time, my heart starts beating a little faster, my throat gets dry and I surreptitiously scan the room for the closest exit.
I'm not wild about playing games among family and friends. Put me in a room full of strangers, and "ice breaker" is akin to torture.
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| This photo was taken on Sunday. The bulk of them were taken on Monday. |
This week, "ice breaker" took on a whole different meaning. After our weekend ice storm, the temperatures started warming. As the thermometer went up, the ice on the trees around the house started falling down onto the roof, sounding like artillery rounds. After reading about a massive tree limb going through a roof in Hutchinson, I figured we were in the middle of a combat zone.
The ice caused cancellations and reshuffled schedules. It made
feeding cattle a more time-consuming job. It did a lousy job trimming trees. And it is still causing power outages across the state, though we were fortunate this time around. This "ice breaker" was about as fun as one of those meeting types I dread.
But it also created undeniable beauty. When I saw this ice-coated "3" in the weeds, I thought about the Count on Sesame Street.
Use a little imagination, and this icy weed looks ready for Valentine's Day.
The red berries looked like holdovers from Christmas decorations.
This one looked like it could form lace on a dress or a necklace dripping with diamonds.
The ice and the overcast day made everything monochromatic (though I helped this one along by making it black and white.)
After checking the bulls, I asked Randy if we could stop at the Peace Creek Cemetery to wrap up my morning-long photo foray.
I had been seeing ice-encased farm fences all morning, but this one was unique - the delicate ice contrasted against the rough brick wall.
One of the finials on a gravestone had a little extra decoration.
These little angels provided a fitting reminder to the morning: It's good to find the joy, even when conditions are less than perfect.
That's an ice breaker that always applies.
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMary Jane Hawver McEntire
Thank you, Mary Jane! It was pretty, though destructive, too.
DeleteKim,
ReplyDeleteI know I've seen ice like that, but it's still hard to wrap my head around thick ice clinging to everything. I'm glad you braved the cold and found some icy images to photograph and share.
We got into the 30's yesterday and today. The snow settled a lot yesterday. Today we had some melting in the cattle lots. J and I moved the calf feed bunks out of the frost this afternoon. We will move them in a month to prepare for calving season. We thought it would be a little easier to move them if they were loosened up from the frost.
I'm not a fan of "ice-breakers" either.
Our calving season has begun! More on the blog this week. We had two babies yesterday and Randy just found a new one this AM. We are really glad it wasn't the weekend before. The lots are a mess, but at least it's not icy.
DeleteKim, these images are breathtaking. Thank you for sharing the beauty you found in this destructive event.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Helen! Thankfully, we don't have this kind of ice that often - more typically, it's like the ice found in my header photo.
DeleteIncredible photos Kim. Hoping you have all thawed out a bit by now.
ReplyDeleteThe ice didn't last long. We had several days of unseasonably warm weather, but winter arrived again temperature-wise overnight. Thankfully, a heifer who calved had it out of the wind.
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