This just in...

You have to appreciate the glistening effect the ice gives the snow. The sparkling "white blanket of death" looks so inviting.

I'm wondering how long icicles can get before they break off. I guess I'll check again in the morning. Assuming my door doesn't ice shut.

These magnolia leaves are not normally here. They are supposed to be up there. Not so low to the ground. Sadly, not long after I took this picture, they snapped off the top of the tree and are now dog toys in the backyard. Interestingly enough, this particular magnolia is very resilient. Fifteen years ago we had a huge ice/snow storm (22 inches of snow plus ice on top of that) that shut down our city for a week. At the time we had a different basset hound that felt his mission in life was to eat every tree we had in our backyard. He had stripped this poor little magnolia of all it's leaves except the very top couple of feet which he could not reach.

Until it snowed 22 inches and then put a hard layer of ice on top.

A hard layer of ice that enabled him to use the snow as a step ladder and snatch the remaining leaves off the tree.

When spring came, Josh planted the magnolia "stick" on the side of the house and it has grown into a towering two story tall work of art.

Until tonight.

However, I'll be reminding it of it's amazing powers of recovery. (that storm was also responsible for me breaking my elbow. I'm hoping we don't have a repeat performance. I don't think I'm as resilient as I used to be.)