When I went out with my camera yesterday, the ice still held my plants hostage - this relative of papyrus hadn't thawed a bit at 4 in the afternoon. 
The cut -off stems of Hedychium coronarium/Hawaiian White Ginger bore an odd resemblance to the Cat tails that grew in Illinois swamps.
Over in the triangle garden, the 'Little Gem' magnolia leaves were gradually emerging, dropping clear replicas of themselves on the grass.
The Loquat leaves were still encased too, with most of the branches still bent. I experimented, holding a leaf and trying to slide off the ice, but it held on tight, so I left it to melt on its own.
But this turned out to be quite unlike my previous experiences with ice storms in the North. Many times ice would arrive just ahead of a thermal drop, so the ice would last longer, and the temperatures would be very, very harsh. I don't think we went below 28ºF here, and the unfreezing process was amazing to me.
This afternoon - ta da! 
My darling Loquat is rebounding I think, although one limb is now completely horizontal, blocking the patio exit at eye level instead of arching 8 feet overhead as it did a week ago. Ki has advised me that props may be necessary, and if we're going to use the patio, at least this branch will need support.
The ground is littered with browned and frozen loquats; the tiny fruits had just begun developing. A few remain on the tree, but winter isn't over, so my dreams of actually eating any this spring may stay dreams.
Today the 'Little Gem' magnolia [a small tree, shorter than I am] is standing straighter, but the center is more open, with the branches fanned out. The boxwoods look better, but have a new shape, too.
It's one in the afternoon, and we haven't thawed out as quickly here as Pam/Digging and MSS/Zanthan have reported - ice remains floating in birdbaths and in the pots.
I wonder if there will be permanent effects from the bending? From our decades of visiting the Chicago Botanical Gardens, I remember watching as trees were gradually forced into appropriate shapes for their Japanese gardens, with weights tied onto ropes, then suspended from branches. It took years in order to make them grow horizontally, but I may have a head start on that tortured, lateral look.
Is it time to start shopping for stone lanterns?
Contemplating...
Okay... here are the rules to this award:"When accepting this award, you must blog about the food you have stolen when your humans were not watching. If you have never stolen any food, you must have been a really good pup! You can accept this yummy tray of cookies as your reward! Next, add the logo of this award to your blog (optional), then nominate at least 5 other furry blogs and let them know by leaving a message on their blogs."Well... I don't know if there's any "oops" to it, except mama's and dad's incompetence at catching me heheh! I weighed 64 pounds when I came to my furever home in May 2007. By the end of September, I had gained 18 pounds. Here's how:In the first week, I destroyed an alarm clock, ate half a warm gingerbread cake and a potholder, two duck stuffies and a goose one. I munched on the contents of all bath waste baskets, worked on part of a door (plexiglas); when my attempts failed, I knocked it out and jumped outside to freedom. I bit and tore at two screen doors for freedom too. Then I found some form of food on a hike that contained marijuana - later it was not a pretty sight and required emergency vet treatment. Ate back hall carpet, a down pillow, 3 training bumpers, Ozzie's food, both wet and dry, breaking a dish in my attempts to get at it. Ate 2 cardboard boxes where mom's manuscripts resided. I ate corners of blankets, 2 of my Dad's shoes (not a match), apples and plums from backyard trees (that's why there's a wire fence out back today). I uprooted all the garden carrots I could find as well as mom's strawberries and tomatoes. Back in the house, I found two nicely cooked turkey breasts on the counter (WHERE were my keepers?) - got 'em plus a pound of raw turkey meat later that week. I'm very, very fast, and by now, very fat.Ma put me on a strict diet, but that didn't stop me from trying on walks, trails and open space. I'd gobble any poo I could find - horse, deer, bunny or - at home, kitty roca. Disgusting but rare, any upchuck available. I will steal anything from mom's office waste basket that's non-recyclable. She has to watch what she tosses in there. Kitchen trash can is always a major target, but I really can't get to it anymore. I did manage to score three of dad's socks. But the peeps are watching me much more carefully and I'm very hungry, poor me. I think that's why I went for the G-L-O-V-E. What a fiasco that was. It was that event that really put me on constant surveillance. A dropped doggie treat, meant for another pup, or a grandpeep's carelessly held snack is my only fair game these days and it's been tough. However, I was back to a trim 64 pounds a few months later, where I've stayed for a long time. And that's the truth of my sicko crimelife. I need a program! I know that so many of you have posted about this tag, so please, if you haven't received this award, I'd love you to take it and blog about it! I will read it - every word, drooling.Hugs xoSammie Pee Ess: I must, however, tag three particular bloggers, cause I'd really like to hear about the ingestions of stolen foodables (or non!)Tucker and DaisyMason DixieThe Rocky Creek Scotties
The cut -off stems of Hedychium coronarium/Hawaiian White Ginger bore an odd resemblance to the Cat tails that grew in Illinois swamps. 
Over in the triangle garden, the 'Little Gem' magnolia leaves were gradually emerging, dropping clear replicas of themselves on the grass. 
The Loquat leaves were still encased too, with most of the branches still bent. I experimented, holding a leaf and trying to slide off the ice, but it held on tight, so I left it to melt on its own. 
My darling Loquat is rebounding I think, although one limb is now completely horizontal, blocking the patio exit at eye level instead of arching 8 feet overhead as it did a week ago. Ki has advised me that props may be necessary, and if we're going to use the patio, at least this branch will need support. 
The ground is littered with browned and frozen loquats; the tiny fruits had just begun developing. A few remain on the tree, but winter isn't over, so my dreams of actually eating any this spring may stay dreams.
It's one in the afternoon, and we haven't thawed out as quickly here as Pam/Digging and MSS/Zanthan have reported - ice remains floating in birdbaths and in the pots.
