Thanksgiving and the Ice Storm

Thanksgiving was fabulous.  We spent a beautiful week in Colorado with our friends, hiking, eating, laughing, drinking wine....and of course taking our annual hike to find the perfect Christmas trees.  

Brian on the trail 

Erik-- scouting for the perfect tree

We got back to Fort Worth the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.  The weather was balmy, and the maples and oaks were colorful.  This has been a gorgeous fall in North Texas!

 But we heard there was an ice storm coming.  I went out and picked the last of the roses.

It started to rain on Thursday, and Friday morning we woke up to an unusual sight.  Brilliant fall color against a blanket of snow.

Except that it wasn't snow.  It was ice, and had formed a solid blanket 4" deep.  5 days later, and it's still there, pretty much intact.

Dallas/Fort Worth was crippled by the ice.  270,000 customers lost their electric power.  The freeways were impassable, and on Monday they were still full of cobblestone ice.  Minor roads (like our street) were ice covered until Tuesday.  Our street still has icy patches.  The grocery stores started running out of bread and milk (delivery trucks couldn't get through).  Brian says the view from his 32nd floor window in downtown Fort Worth reminded him of winters in Ohio:  gray sky blending into the white ground.  We had to shovel our walks -- with a garden spade.  We don't own a snow shovel.  Brian was unable to go to his office on Friday -- the first time he has ever missed work because of weather.  All those years in Houston, despite storms like Tropical Storm Allison and Hurricane Rita, he always managed to get to the office.  Our power went out on Sunday, but was back on by the time we woke up on Monday.  And it has been really really cold.

Today (Wednesday) the kids are back in school and the sun is peeking out.  I hope to see the grass again soon!