not a soft white damn

the snow doesn't give a soft white damn

whom it touches. ~e.e. cummings

Ice Palace - Weldon Spring, February 1, 2011

I suppose that's true of ice, as well. It certainly doesn't seem to give a crystal clear damn about what it's touching here in Weldon Spring this morning.

I've been up since pre-dawn, listening to the ominous tink-tink-tinkly sound of the ice pellets hitting every surface ...the roof, the gutters, the tree limbs and power lines.  If I didn't know better, I'd think it to be a lovely sound, almost melodic. But I know better.

The sun is struggling to show signs of daylight now, and the entire atmosphere is filled with a deep blue glow. The ice, harsh and sharp and biting, has left a strange blurry softness around all the edges of the scenery. It's as if the view from every window is a photograph slightly out of focus.

This storm is a defiant one, coming in on its own terms, and not as the oh-so-earnest weather forecasters have predicted.  It's building slowly, and yet I feel its power. I think it means to end with a great crescendo of white. We'll see.

Today, the entire family will stay home. The Titan of Business (hubby) will, I suspect, have the phone to his ear all day. The Other Titan of Business (son #1) will, too. The Scholar (son #2) will be available as Our Personal Reference Book, and the Beauty (son #1's wife), will catch up on laundry and such.  

I plan on getting out a stack of jigsaw puzzles and keeping  Little Man and Little Sister busy with them today. I think we'll have a few days to put them together.

Jigsaw Puzzle "Monet's Water Lilies"

My friend Linda, of "Welcome To" blog in southern Ontario, posted a yummy looking recipe for apple pie complete with a topping involving maple syrup and yogurt...I think I'll get the little helpers in the kitchen for that one, too. Doesn't it look divine?

http://livingintheeasternwoodlands.blogspot.com/2011/01/if-apple-pie-can-be-good-for-you-this.html 

I'd also like to get some photos of the happenings outside my door, but I fear I would need spiked boots for that, something I forgot to pick up when I went to the market for the requisite bread, milk, and eggs.  We'll see about that, too.

In the meantime, the falling ice has picked up again, and the tink-tink-tinkly sound is getting louder. I'm waiting for the inevitable sound of branches buckling under its weight. Poor trees.

The sparrows and wrens and finches are beginning to gather at the feeder out back and I see it needs more thistle seed and suet. Poor birds.  Maybe I can dig out my old ice skates and get out there to feed them.

I wish you the warmth and comfort of home today.