Winter Sleet and Ice Covers Skylands
Temperatures at Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, are expected to be in the mid-30s today with mostly sunny skies and then dipping to the 20s tonight with a good chance of snow.
Last weekend there was lots of rain and sleet. The carriage roads and terraces were topped with more than four-inches of ice. The bare tree branches were also coated and glistening, but thankfully the winds were low and there was no damage anywhere and no loss of power.
Cheryl DuLong ventured outside, safely, to take a few snapshots around my home, enjoy.
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- These are the branches of a wild blueberry bush located off my main driveway. It doesn’t bear fruit in summer because it doesn’t get enough light through the wooded area, but it’s pretty, so we’ve kept it. Last weekend, the entire bush was covered in ice after hours of rain and then fast freezing temperatures.
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- Cheryl turned around to take this photo. She said with all the ice, sounds of it cracking could be heard everywhere.
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- This witch hazel is not far from my Counsel Circle. It, too, was covered in ice.
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- Across the witch hazel on this back driveway, the evergreens were largely coated in white – looks like powdery snow, but it is all sleet and ice.
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- And on this carriage road, more than four inches of actual sleet – nothing powdery here.
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- Cheryl also saw these tracks – do you know what kind of animal tracks these are? They’re the prints of wild turkey. A path of them walked across the road and into the woodland.
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- This is one view looking into the woods. It is directly across the main driveway. My daughter, Alexis, likes to help “clean the woods” here in summer, clearing the fallen brush and wild saplings that pop up.
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- These are the steps from the back porch leading to the front of the house – all of them covered in a layer of ice.
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- At midday, one could see a reflection in the leaded and storm dining room windows that face east. By this time, the sun was coming out and the skies were turning blue.
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- Here’s a view looking west from my large terrace. On the ledge is my long granite trough covered for winter. In front of it is another covered planter.
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- Also on the terrace ledge, the old kiwi vines now bare of any foliage. The branches on the ground are pruned cuttings – we use them to cover the flower beds during this cold season.
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- Cheryl also took a quick photo of this junco bird. A junco is a handsome little bird about five inches long. It can be found across the continent, from Alaska to Mexico, California to New York. These birds often travel in flocks and mostly forage for food on the ground.
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- This is the corner of the ledge looking out to Sutton Island. According to legend, a local native chief sold Sutton Island, one of the five Cranberry Islands, to Ebenezer Sutton in 1755 for two quarts of rum.
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- Here’s another view of Sutton Island from an upstairs terrace. A wildlife sanctuary, Sutton has no roads or shops and is just served by ferries and water taxies.
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- This photo was taken while standing at the front door looking at the driveway and the front circle of Skylands.
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- At the circle, one can see the bare smoke bush, Cotinus, all covered in ice. In a few months it will look markedly different with vibrant new foliage, followed by its floral display and then the well-known large, plumelike panicles that give it its smokey appearance.
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- Here’s a view of the Southwest Harbor, located just west of the southern entrance to Somes Sound.
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- This giant sugar maple grows outside my dining room. Over Thanksgiving, we strapped it down just before a storm, so its large branches wouldn’t break and damage the house. It came through just fine and continues to look so beautiful in all seasons.
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- Here’s a look at the back porch just as the afternoon sun began to set. One never tires of the views around Skylands.
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- It’s been a mild winter in the Northeast so far – with little snow, but tonight, the area may see up to three-inches of white. And who knows what’s ahead… we still have two months of winter to go.
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