More cool pictures

On the day of our ice storm, Dec 19, and for a few days after I took a lot of pictures because we do not get conditions like this too often. Naturally, I want to share them. Let us start with the human impact.

I found a couple of sheds that got hit by falling branches. This one was on Vine.
And this on was on Jackson.
Do you think bad road conditions might have had something to do with this damaged fence at Staddon Field?
All the broken branches kept the tree removal guys busy, even if it was mostly removing parts of trees. Here they are working at two houses on Abagail Street.
Enough of people. Here is the court house from as seen from the post office.
Here is the College Street bridge decorated for the holidays.


Below is the hawthorn tree that is next to the post office on a bright sunny morning.

Here are bushes by Dr. Bausman's office on Front Street, also on a bright, sunny morning.
I do not know what kind of berries these are, and I do not remember where I took the picture.
Here are more pine needles.
This is a weeping willow on the north end of Abagail.
I can tell from the seeds that this was a basswood. It was somewhere in the south part of town near Fleming.
Here is some kind of locust tree the northeast side of town.
This is not another locust, but a redbud. The redbuds are easy to recognize in the winter if they still have their seed pods.
Are you tired of ice yet? Or do you want more? I took a lot of pictures.

Pears

Until this past fall I had never noticed all the decorative pear trees that have been planted. Now that I am looking for them, I see them everywhere. They are especially noticeable in the early winter because they lose their leaves very late if they lose them at all. Many still have their leaves when there is snow on the ground.
Here is a large specimen about a mile out on Bunkum Road. There are also smaller examples closer to town, along the new addition to Weston Cemetery.
Driving through Watseka, Illinois, I noticed that there were decorative pears planted for most of the length of the highway as it passed through town. And in a tree nursery on I-57 near Gillman, there were thousands of young ones growing. Have these pears become the new fashion in small trees?

Santa light

We admire Christmas decorations when they are elegant and we appreciate them when they are over-the-top. Sometimes we enjoy them because they are funny.

These two-dimensional characters of Mr. and Mrs. Claus on Front Street show a lighter side of Christmas decorating. I always think Mrs. Claus is a funny character. Here she and Santa are giving a friendly wave to those passing by.
In Houston's subdivision this tipsy snowman appears as if he had one too many the night before.
These snowmen carolers seem to get around town. I was sure that I saw them on Grace Street, but here they are on Owen Street, and they even brought the trees with them. Well, if you are caroling, you are supposed to get around town, even if you are anchored.
When I saw these deer on Grace Street, I was not sure if they were Christmas decorations or deer decoys. Could they be both?
It appears that someone on Rachel Street lynched Santa--he is swinging in the breeze. Maybe the intent was innocent--they probably thought of this as a big tree ornament. Or a piñata.
On Milroy Avenue Santa is riding a polar bear. For some reason (Coca Cola ads?) people think of polar bears as kind and cuddly. Actually, polar bears consider humans as prey.
And then there is this totally hip Santa on Fleming Blvd. This blow-up Santa more than any other shows the lighter side of Christmas decorating. Ride on, Santa.

Merry Christmas

Among all the Santas, Frosties, deer, sleighs, and other iconography of the Christmas holidays, there were a few lawns that displayed creche scenes. Today seems the right day to show them. The first was on Milroy Ave.
This one was on Grace Street. The addition of angels is a nice touch. I saw very few angels in the outdoor decorations.
This was on Angelica. It looks pretty much like the previous one, but its star is inflated.
I think this one was on Webster. A large and most impressive set, it was not easily viewable from the street.
And I think this one is on Rachel Street.
Merry Christmas.

Silver linings

The freezing rain of December 19 did a lot of damage, but there was a silver lining. It also created great beauty. Some of our attempts to decorate for the holidays are based on the sorts of things we see when everything is coated with ice, even it we do not welcome the destructive side of the event.
Here is a spruce tree in Milroy Park that already had Christmas lights, but now it has nature's own tinsel.
We decorate trees with red ornaments. Here is one that nature has decorated.
The wire in the fence at the softball field at Brookside Park was evenly coated. It was a very strange sight.
This old house looks like it belongs in an old-fashioned Christmas story even without the ice covered branches. If you know your Rensselaer history, you recognize this as the Alfred Thompson House on Park Avenue built in 1878 or 1879. It is in the Second Empire style with a mansard roof.
Weston Cemetery, with its big old trees and weathered tombstones, often has camera-ready subjects.
That is a tombstone hiding behind the branches covered in icicles. The tilt to the icicles is not due to wind, but the to tree limb sagging after the ice buildup.
This picture was taken near Lake Banet.
I think this is a branch of a hackberry tree. It is in Iroquois Park.
And this is from Flat Iron or Memorial Park.
Finally, oak leaves from a tree at SJC.