More Ice Monday

You guessed it, another icy morning.  I checked on the barn after my drive through the park.  There were icicles everywhere.  Frost was covering every last blade of grass.  Any leafy plants near the ground are getting very droopy.  Its just sad.  I was impressed by the big icicles that I found in some places.  None of the faucets were frozen, but there were neat formations under all of them.  I especially liked the plant in the third photo.  It is a vine called Smilax.  I have blogged about it before.  It has a very distinct leaf shape and I loved how the ice that surrounded it mimicked its shape.  Smilax is very prickly, I think I like it better wrapped in ice.  The next photo is a Cedar tree that chose an unfortunate place to grow, right next to the barn.  It just can't grow there, but I haven't had the heart to remove it.  The ice still resembles the little droplets of water that tumbled through its branches.  They are just frozen in place.





When I got to the office, I walked around to open the cabin and check out the rest of the park.  I was very well bundled today, hat, scarf, gloves, and layers of clothing.  The water had not risen noticeably, which is a good sign.  When I checked the water level on the computer, it had only come up .04 feet.  Previously, it had been coming up about a foot every three days.  I hope that I have even better news to share tomorrow.  I took the photo from the cabin porch and got another one down by the river because the moon was still visible in the sky and it looked so pretty over the water.



I walked over the restrooms and the spring next.  I was glad to see that the outdoor shower was not frozen today.  I had asked the evening closer last night to let the water run a little more than a drip to keep it flowing.  Once I got back to the office, my day sped right along.  I took care of the weekly paperwork, and headed out to do my Monday errands.  I saw my manager and assistant manager and checked on some details with them.  I didn't stay long though because I had to get back to Troy to meet the well inspector.  I walked with him while he inspected both of our wells.  He had some minor things for me to fix up.  The chlorinator on one well had likely frozen last night and its hose popped off from the pressure.  Our facilities were just not designed for freezing temperatures.  No worries though, I am becoming an expert on well and chlorinator repairs!  I'm sure I will be able to take care of it tomorrow.  After I met with the well inspector, I had to leave again to take care of more errands.  I stopped in Branford to pick up a spark plug for one of our leaf blowers on my way to the "big" city of Live Oak about 30 miles away.  In Live Oak, I picked up a new gas cap for the chainsaw and chlorine for the well at Adams Tract.  Those errands went very quickly, but it was already time to go home when I got back to Troy.  I put away my new purchases, got my receipts ready for paperwork tomorrow, read and sent a few e-mails, and talked to my co-workers for a few minutes before I went home.  I think that tomorrow will be another busy day.