Winter Storm Olive

 In our last episode, Brownie and Goldie were hogging the dust bath. I finally saw a Dominque in the dust bath today, which is good because they have the worst mite infestations on their feet. Terry added another bucket of sand this morning, which I dutifully dusted with diatomaceous earth. I hope the girls are at least feeling less itchy.

Dominique in the dust bath

The excitement for the week was winter storm Olive. She was highly efficient at finding every weak branch or trunk, but she did a messy job pruning. The storm started Wednesday and carried on through the night. Our power flickered a few times Wednesday afternoon and went out for real at 8:15 Thursday morning. It stayed out until 9:45 a.m. Friday. The temperature in the house got down to 51°F. I went down to Jane’s for the night, but Terry would not abandon ship.

The sun came out Saturday morning, but it stayed cold. The only ice that came off the trees blew away with the wind. Not much melting went on, even with the sun out. The deck was lined with icicles as was Mr. Long Arm®, the telescoping brush we use for getting snow off the satellite dishes and solar panels.

Icicles on the deck and Mr. Long Arm

The birches leaned WAY over, “Like McDonald’s Golden Arches,” Terry said.

North birches

South birches, Before (compare to After, below)

Every spruce needle on the east side of the trees were encased with ice.

Spruce needles

With this kind of weight on needles, it is small wonder that several of our white pines lost their tops.

Pines with their tops snapped off

The magnolia buds were also covered.

Magnolia bud and twig

Among the five oaks, only Oak 2 lost a major branch.

Oak 2 lost a big branch

The ice broke a post on the orchard fence..

Broken fence post by the orchard

And seriously weighed down the chicken fence. It was warm enough by Sunday that I was able to stick the poles in the ground at a more upright angle.

Chicken fence

Along the back of the property, every branch on the understory glistened in the sun.

Shrubs covered in ice

This twig was interesting. I guess it had enough sun to melt the top of the ice that surrounded it so that a tube of ice fell off and hung on by the very tip of the branch.

The ice that once covered a twig hangs on by the tip.

There’s not much back there but crappy box elder trees. Many of them lost branches.

An example of the damage

One of them fell down completely.

Stump of a newly fallen tree, center left

The fire ring needs a lot of clean up.

Trees down by the fire ring

Another angle on the fire ring

Yet, it was pretty in the sunshine, and I was glad to see blue sky.

Sparkles in the sun

By the end of Saturday, the birches that were in direct sunlight were standing straight up again.

South birches, After

Amid all the cold and ice, there was a sign of spring—a redwing blackbird at the feeder.

Redwing blackbird on the feeder

The boys were fascinated.

Birdwatching

Tomorrow is supposed to bring torrential rains and more high winds. What next?