Ice Storm

Our fireplace has been burning at all hours of the day and night these past several days. Following the abundant snowfall we received last week, we received an even greater abundance of freezing rain. Many power outages followed, making the fireplace our main source of heat for a few days. 

With the ice and cold, the blooming forsythia provided all the more 

warmth with its bright smiling flowers. 

Mike worked overtime splitting kindling and firewood. 

I stepped out onto the porch to snap this picture of our frozen landscape and the trees weighed down with heavy snow and ice. The oak and aspen trees fared the worst, with many broken limbs and downed trees. The sound of the limbs snapping and crashing to the ground was sad to hear. I wished there was something we could have done for them. 

The boxwood were completely coated with ice.
Many of the other plants and trees looked the same. 

 Indoors, our summer lanterns were helpful in the evening 

and early morning hours during the outages.  

The first morning light was always a welcome sight. 

When the power was on, we raided the freezer for warm meals that we could make quickly. One really appreciates a hot cup of tea or a warm dinner after being without for several hours. One delicious freezer treat all four of us enjoyed (babies loved it) was this cauliflower and kale soup Mike made a while back. 

The recipe is from Martha Stewart, which you can find here. Mike used twice the amount of kale that the recipe called for. It's very savory and delicious. It reminds me of cream of artichoke soup.