Icy Winter Solstice

Freezing rain began last night. By 3 a.m. power was going out. At 6 a.m. there were sounds of branches breaking and smashing to ground. Freezing rain had largely stopped by 2 p.m.  I went to the SW Gate at 5 p.m. to see what the ice had done.
Ice transformed the Woods.. beautiful drooping ice-covered branches, shrubs, privet - green leaves with ice, indian currant Symphoricarpos light brown stem and red berries encased in ice. Most beautiful was the West Dune Trail where the dense snail seed and honeysuckle vines overhead covered in ice made the trail into a silvery tunnel. Along oak trails, new fallen leaves of early winter were still 3 dimensional, not compressed into thin layers of decomposition.
Tree breakage was widespread. It was happening while I was there.. a sudden loud breaking sound of a solid branch followed by a silvery shower of shed ice falling.
I cleared many tops and branches that could be dragged away from the trail. I will not use the saw until a few days from now when ice has melted and trees, now bent deeply,  have rebounded as much as they will. Part of survival as a young tree or old in this environment. You adapt to ice, to sudden weight bending you double. to breakage of your top crown. Trees and branches are loaded to their limit. A small breeze rocking and swaying the trees triggers more breakage. I will walk all the trails in the Woods with saw and loppers to clear largish breakage/ blowdowns.
Water was high at Island Crossing - filled the Wash but did not rise to cover the Island. East Pond was full. Water along the main SW trail had backed up above the Beaver Dam and was rising but had not reached Grandfather cottonwood at 5:30. SW end of the E-W trail was underwater. I detoured, walking west, off-trail parallel to the rising water in the Main SW Wash. Beautiful, exciting unusual time to be in the Woods.