Iced Witch Hazel

With temperatures up to 73° two days ago, yesterday’s temperatures were a pleasant surprise (says the lover of winter), fluctuating around 30° with nothing registering higher than 31°. But it was raining lightly with very little icing, and no snow. That was a weird disappointment. Last night though ice happened. My world was covered in diamonds as I got ready for my day. I was elated.

My Witch Hazels (Hamamelis virginiana) near the back of my studio looked dazzling in their dressing of ice. This small tree is a rebel in the world of flowering trees, blooming in October and November, hanging onto those blossoms for a couple months. Witch Hazels are native to eastern North America. Here in the mountains I see many of them in the higher elevations. They’re one of the host plants of Spring Azure butterflies.

Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.