Storm Damage in Olympia

Mountaineer-approved footwear? I think not.

   Without power for a second day, I set off for downtown Olympia yesterday under they gray and over the slush. I found a free electrical outlet at Traditions Cafe and worked on my laptop for about twenty minutes before the power went out downtown and my battery blipped out. So I headed back home along Capitol Way. What a mess. 

  It looked like a tornado had hit. The ten inches of heavy, wet snow combined with freezing rain had split  trees down the middle, ripped off branches left and right, and felled quite a few.  

  I thought about hopping on a bus, but wanted the exercise and adventure of seeing the damage from the storm first-hand. I walked mostly--on and off the sidewalks--and listened carefully for cracking branches.

Walkers near Sylvester Park--not quite safe on the street or sidewalk.

Misty rain, low clouds, and air pollution from wood-burning stoves cast a pall over the city.

Trees along Capitol Way will likely not survive this kind of damage.

Many of the large old trees on the Capitol Campus won't either.

Thick ice coated every twig and leaf bud.

Footpaths around downed trees put pedestrians onto the street.

A bit of color in a bleak landscape.

Downed power lines lay across the sidewalk.

This beautiful weeping cherry off Carlyon Rd. is--was--a local landmark in spring. Neighborhood roads were deep in slush and fallen limbs.

Air quality was poor.

Sagging power-lines under the weight of this snow-laden tree.

Home again, safe and sound, to feed the birds. I wonder how their nests fared the storm.