Daybreak

My office window looks out over a broad vista of the Ohio River valley, facing southeast. I have a perfect view of the horizon when the sun comes up.

Sunrise views are often there - if only I take time to notice them. There was just the right mix of clouds, atmospheric conditions, and jet contrails on this crisp January morning to produce this spectacular sunrise. I saw it and trekked up to the roof of the building. I gently trudged over glazed ice, framed the picture, and shot it. A minute or two later the colors faded into daylight.

A usual, the photo falls short of depicting the real beauty of the scene. But it is still a wonderful picture, testimony that the heavens do reveal the glory of God - Psalm 19:1-4:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

Ice Age

It has been a warmer than average winter so far - lots of days in the 50's interspersed with relatively few bitter cold days. Today has been one of the latter. I could see the pink blotches over our area on weather radar. And there was mention of a "wintry mix" in the forecast. When we went outside this morning, everything was coated in ice. It was treacherous walking on any pavement - a complete glaze. Our physics teacher would describe the situation as a VERY low coefficient of friction. 



The woods were a filigree of shiny ice coatings. A few branches were down, but fortunately this was not a severe ice storm that leaves a grotesque aftermath of downed trees and broken limbs.



Some trees were drooping; evergreens had a downcast appearance, as though hibernating. By noon, much of the pavements were clear. A slight mist and subfreezing temps kept the ice from melting from branches and the ground. Gabbie and Tess quickly learned to avoid any pavement or boardwalks. Otherwise it was business usual except they had to wait on me as I tiptoed and quick-stepped through the slick zones.



This Ice Age will last only 24 hours or so. Soon the spectacle will disappear. Another beautiful scene in Bittersweet Woods will be sealed in our memories - or at least in our digital memories, as long as our backups are done properly.