The pleasures of an Ice Storm

 

This past week, on a cold January day, we experienced an ice storm which went from rain to freezing rain, and then to ice. The following morning, I awoke to one of the most beautiful, crystal-like scenes out my back window that I, almost, have ever seen. Our lovely, three-trunked Birch Tree had sparkling glass-like branches, and even the grass shone and dazzled. I wanted to run to this BLOG, and quickly describe this awesome scene, but, felt that I could never do it justice. At the same time, I had been reading the wonderful book,"John Adams" by David McCullough (if you have not read this, it is now on my "top five" list if anyone cares) and was just coming to the end when, John Adams, himself, described just such a scene outside his own farmhouse. So, if I may be so presumptuous, I am going to borrow his description, written so many years ago (1824, I believe) because he has described so well what I cannot. I love that human beings, no matter what the era, love and pay attention to some of the same things which bring us so much joy, as this scene did for both John Adams and myself.
"A rain had fallen from some warmer region in the skies when the cold here below was intense to extreme. Every drop was frozen wherever it fell in the trees, and clung to the limbs and sprigs as if it had been fastened by hooks of steel. The earth was never more universally covered with snow, and the rain had frozen upon a crust on the surface which shone with the brightness of burnished silver. The icicles on every sprig glowed in all the luster of diamonds. Every tree was a chandelier of cut glass. I have seen a Queen of France with eighteen millions of livres of diamonds upon her person and I declare that all the charms of her face and figure added to all the glitter or her jewels did not make an impression on me equal to that presented by every shrub. The whole world was glittering with precious stones." (John Adams) Now, this man was not only a great American hero, statesman, president etc. he was also a great writer!