During the recent arctic blast, Reelfoot Lake froze over and ice formed around the base or foot of the Cypress trees which stand out in the water. This usually happens once or twice each winter, and is a beautiful gift of nature that shouldn’t be missed.
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.” ~Aristotle
“[W]hat a severe yet master artist old Winter is … No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel.” ~John Burroughs
… Winter is the king of showmen
Turning tree stumps into snowmen …
… And spreading sugar over lakes.
Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite …
~Ogden Nash
“Winter giveth the fields, and the trees so old, their beards of icicles and snow.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“If you listen carefully, the silence is beautiful.” ~Unknown
walking on a country road 
Love these shots. Winter is like the frosting on top of a cake, filled with glistening sugar and delightful flavors. I’m glad to see it melting though.
Thanks, Kathy! I always enjoy seeing it even though it never lasts very long here. It makes everything magical.
These pictures are gorgeous! Perfect quotes to go with them! We had ice and snow too here in Louisiana….but…. I am ready for spring now. Take care, God bless…Kathy
All very pretty. I always thought the silence of snow was its best feature.
Those ice formations on the trees are neat and I wonder how much damage the ice does.
Thanks, Ellen. This happens every year and they always seem to do fine. The bald cypress is a very hardy tree.
Much as we hate to shovel snow or deal with ice, both are beautiful to behold. That can’t be good for the trunks to be swathed in ice like that. These are all amazing pictures of the ice. I like all the quotes, but this one suits your post the most: “Winter giveth the fields, and the trees so old, their beards of icicles and snow.”
We don’t get as much ice and snow as you do up north. This was our first big winter storm of the season. I sure would be disappointed if we didn’t get at least one a year. I do enjoy the beauty and magic of a good snow. Some of these bald cypress trees have been around for hundreds of years and the ice and snow doesn’t seem to do them any harm. They are pretty resistant to wind and ice damage.
Yes, it’s really magical to look at … I took pictures a few years ago when we had a 13-inch snowfall before anyone cleared it. You were lucky your trees were unscathed. I follow a blogger in Oregon and they rarely get snow or ice and they had a bad icestorm. Sabine took photos of the ice and they had some tree damage. The fun part of her post was she has hummingbirds all year around. This year she got a warmer to keep the nectar from freezing and the hummingbirds love it. But she lost power and could not plug in the warmer. She was running back and forth with new nectar she kept inside. This is her post if you want to see the photos:
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/33297203/posts/3186033310
Thanks for sharing this Linda. They got a lot more ice than we did. We lucked out that it didn’t bother trees or power lines. Interesting to read about heated feeders. I’ve never heard of this. Wonder dedication to keep the hummingbirds fed in such bad winter weather.
You’re welcome Rebecca – I thought you might like to see how their ice storm looked as it seemed to come all at once. I had never heard about heated hummingbird feeders either, but Sabine said she thought she’d try it since the hummingbirds don’t migrate from her area in the Winter months. Can you imagine her frustration at realizing all those hummingbirds were relying on her for food and she may not be able to provide it?
I enjoy reading a picture. When I saw these tree trunks coated in ice I wondered “why”?
Do you know the dynamics of this?
It couldn’t be from a warm period. If rained or all the limbs would have ice. Did the lake level rise and retreat?
The wind catches the lake water and splashes it on the trees and then it freezes. This year the ice formations weren’t as big and fancy as in some years past since the cold weather didn’t stick around too long.
That makes sense.I’ve seen this before.
Amazing photos..
Thanks! I look forward to it each year.