I was ready to finish the next TCTC newsletter when it started freeze raining here at TCTC the night of Thursday, Feb. 4. Other areas in the county were getting snow. High winds kicked in and soon our surrounding trees and big bushes were self-pruning, pelting parts and pieces down upon us as well. The house was shuddering as huge branches landed on the roof from 150 ft. overhead.
Next morning TCTC’s volunteers were stranded at home. Walt was gone. Isolation greeted me with a 1″ coating of clear, hard, ice and sustained 27 Degrees of COLD. Fallen treetops and branches snapped off overnight had barricaded all three driveways. Power was out so no water, heat or phones were functioning. Cel towers were slimed as well so service was sketchy to non-existent. There was LOTS TO DO! Mother Nature had struck a powerful blow but it was stunningly beautiful…
As I made it carefully from house to barns, I couldn’t help pausing, ever so quickly, at each amazing detail of Her rendering. Ice had encapsulated life itself… even Spring’s first blossoms of Her own making…in clear sheaths an inch thick on EVERYTHING. It reminded me of the volcanic ashen aftermath spewed from Italy’s Mt. Vesuvius onto Pompeii and Herculaneum in 29 AD, still visible when I visited those archaeological sites as a kid in 1965!
TCTC felt like an ICE CASTLE surrounded by groaning, cracking, splintering, crashing trees that released shards of round 1″ iceballs to instantly pierce and/or blanket the ground. It sounded, and felt, like we were under siege from heavy artillery blasts in some mythical war zone.
It went on for 3 days. Walt made it home on the 2nd. On the 4th, the sun came out. Within hours spring re-emerged until the night’s freeze encased it once again in a frigid grip. We’ve been swinging from one extreme to another ever since, but power, internet and phone have been restored here though many volunteers remain without power in their homes…
Trillium Creek Training and Rehabilitation Coalition is a 503(c)3 nonprofit with 10 acres of woods, trails, water, gardens, orchards, and 12 horses who have been healed and retrained to safely offer relationships with humans who are learning to be resourceful, self-reliant, community-oriented, and dedicated to sustainable practices that enhance the quality of their lives, the land, and the planet.