Brrrrrr. Is That a Technical Term?

Southerners don’t know what to do with ice. It’s just a fact. For a week and a half, it’s been cold. If I had three dogs, it would be time to pile them on the bed. It’s hard to complain about temperatures in the teens every night when it’s below zero in places like North Dakota. But doggone it, they’re used to it and they choose to stay. We’re not. There were snow flurries in Orlando, Florida over the weekend. That's just not right.

There’s a little-known series of waterfalls in the county where I live. I knew that days and days of temperatures in the teens and twenties overnight and highs barely above freezing would probably create accumulations of ice. Today, I took the time to drive out and see what I could find. Sure enough, spray from the waterfalls had made some amazing formations of icicles, sheets of slick ice, and heavy coatings on branches and rocks.

It was too dark for handholding much--the camera, that is. And with a coating of ice on most of the rocks, footing was treacherous. At least once, my feet went out from under me, leaving me desperately trying to fall gracefully while holding a Nikon overhead. I figured I’d heal faster than the camera.

I got some interesting shots. Unfortunately, many of the places I wanted to go were too icy and dangerous to reach without risking life, limb, and camera. Even when I could find a place to stand, the tripod simply wouldn't sit still on uneven rocks covered in an inch of ice. I’m a little jealous of those photographers who get to shoot icy waterfalls often. But not enough to move there. Serious winter has visited for far too long.

Ironically, I found out tonight that my parent's cat died yesterday. He broke through the ice on their pond and disappeared under the water. My Dad saw it happen and tried to reach him, but it was too late. I spent all of last winter wishing for spring. Guess I'm still there. Damn ice. Damn winter.