The Treacherous Beauty of Ice

So far, this winter has seen a lot of rain and freezing rain instead of lots of snow. Tree branches have been heavily bowed down, creating scenes of beauty.

Every needle has been coated with ice - awesome!

And then the snow would add its majesty.

Words just can't describe the beauty and majesty of this winter scene. Even the camera didn't do justice!

Heavily laden branches created a winter wonderland at night too!

And dawn one morning after a snow simpy took our breath away.

Winter in Canada needs to be enjoyed; backyard skating rinks, toboggan hills, Ottawa's Winterlude
 - and the annual Fishing Derby on Graham Lake.

But all that beauty also brings its own brand of treachery: the build-up of ice makes walking very dangerous! This picture shows ice on the hill down at the lake.

And nearer to the house there's another treachery: you think that's grass we can walk on? Nope! Between each blade of grass and each pine needle  and each leaf on the ground, there is ice and more ice. The snow has also thawed and frozen so many times that it is now ice. Finding safe places to walk is almost impossible. And I cross this terrain 4 times a day just to get to the school bus and back again. The driveway is impossible, and coming down through the trees and onto the lawn is also impossible. I've fallen twice already, and my head remembers the pain very well. This week, I've taken to crossing the back lawn over to the road allowance and have found a bit of icy snow to break through for my trek.

Here's a glimpse of all that ice! And the seeping water has found a new path to come down. Instead of crossing the yard, it is coming down the yard and into the patio area. A deep freeze could do major damage to our brick wall!

The back corners of these steps now have almost 6 inches of ice built up on them. We've never had ice on them before - I usually shovel the snow off them so that we know where they are!
Is our driveway the only one affected by all that ice and melting ice? It sure isn't! As I drive my bus route, every lane and driveway is just as bad as ours.

This is our driveway looking towards the back. It's received ash and sand to give some traction, but the melting simply coats it anew.

The driveway across the back normally gets thick with ice and snow, and as the melting creates little rivers, we get huge crevices across it - making the navigation with the cars rather tricky. This crevice, however, is so big and deep that John put four 2x4's in it: 2 beside each other and 2 deep. And no, the boards are not level with the top.

And this is the entrance of our back driveway from Sunset Lane. We're hoping this crevice melts before it becomes too tricky to get through or over.
There is another kind of damage as we look around: the ice has also caused many branches to break off trees, reminding me a little bit of the IceStorm of '98. Winter also causes some types of trees to bend their trunks; I've seen several of them bent so far that they're breaking off.
Winter. It's nice to have some mild weather and it sure seems like spring is around the corner when the sun brings the thermomete above freezing, but I do wish for a few feet of snow yet! The insulation factor would help get rid of some of that ice, and we'll be thankful for the full lakes and rivers come summer!
In the meantime, ice makes life a bigger adventure!