Holidays in Trees

Many of us have been through an ice storm or two. They can be dangerous and frightening, but also beautiful and enchanting. For those who have never seen a thick coating of ice on everything, it is hard to describe how the whole of nature glistens like a winter wonderland.

While its beauty is magnificent, it can also cause great destruction as trees and power lines and even some buildings succumb to the weight of it all, especially if a cold wind is whipping through as well! There are all the jokes about how we used to walk to school in the deep snow, uphill, both ways and the like. But heavy ice and snow and weeks of subzero temperatures used to be a normal state of the weather when I was growing up in the Midwest. One winter, it took bulldozers to clear out the country roads that were impassible due to snowdrifts up to ten feet high. And anyone who lives in the northern part of the United States will be laughing at these “mild” conditions!

Some winters were so cold that we would live in two rooms of our farmhouse! We would set up the beds in the kitchen and adjoining living room. Then in the daytime, we would move them to closed-off rooms, and put the living room and kitchen furniture back for day use. Of course we kids thought that was a great adventure. I don’t think our parents were quite as thrilled.
Thankfully, our winters have not been as severe most of my adult life. But, should they return, I have some experience in the matter! Interestingly, we had an ice storm the week that I began publishing this volume!

But, spring renewal, just like hope, is always right around the corner and so the cycle of the seasons continues. I dedicate Volume V to my good friend, Mark N., who enjoyed this story the best in the series, and who has helped me along life’s journey quite a few times. Thank you, Mark. I am grateful.