The Great Willamette Valley Ice Storm of '16 - 5 - Douglas-Fir Trees - 11 original photos
Ice! Ice! Ice! It's beautiful in here, in my post -- with ice all over the Douglas-Fir trees! But there's a cost to some trees, too.
Here's the first post on the Great Willamette Valley Ice Storm of 2016. I've already shown the effect of the ice on my Sequoia and Larch Trees, Blue Spruce and Western Redcedar Trees, and Noble Fir, Grand Fir, and Eastern White Pine Trees. I'll be showing how the ice affected other trees in future photosets, too, including River Birch, Ponderosa Pine, fruit trees, and more.
Douglas-Fir
The Douglas-fir tree (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is the emblem of the Pacific Northwest. It is the dominant tree west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, Oregon, northern California, and southern British Columbia. It occurs in all kinds of environments, from the coastal lowlands to high elevations, and in all kinds of soils, slopes, and forest types. It's the primary timber tree of the Pacific Northwest. They can be giant trees, too -- many over 200 feet tall -- only the Coastal Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are taller.
The Douglas-fir trees in my yard are far from that big! They came through this giant ice storm in great shape -- with one exception, as you will see. I think the ice was especially beautiful on the branches of the Douglas-fir. I hope you like these 11 pictures of the temporary beauty of ice from freezing rain.
The poor tree in the last image, really took the heat. It almost bent completely doubled over. But it did only bend - not break. Since the ice melted, the tree has straightened up, but still isn't completely right. The main stem may have sustained more damage than it can recover from. But the damage won't become really apparent until summer.
In those last two images, I used bracketed images with High Dynamic Range (HDR) processing. Do you think it makes any difference? Do you like them any better than the others?
How Is Your Winter Going?
Have you had much ice or snow this winter? How have your trees handled the weather this winter?
Other posts in this Ice Storm Series:
- The Great Willamette Valley Ice Storm of 2016
- Sequoia and Larch Trees
- Blue Spruce and Western Redcedar Trees
- Noble Fir, Grand Fir, and Eastern White Pine Trees
Follow me to see more ice storm photosets, including how the ice affected my River Birch, Ponderosa Pine, fruit trees, and more.
Haphazard Homestead
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Great photos. Small amounts of ice on trees is so beautiful, but to much is disasterous. We've had a fairly mild winter in Buffalo NY this year, the southtowns have been getting socked pretty good, but the city has faired well with decent weather. I need to get out after a decent snow and get some pics with my camera. Love when everything is snow covered, so beautiful.
Thanks! I think you all in Buffalo know winter snow! You get the lake effect really big sometimes, and the ice pushing up from the lake up onto the shore. Pretty dramatic. You will get a big storm yet, I bet! : ) You could get some great photos of all that beautiful snow. Happy Winter!
nice :)
thanks!
wonderful photos... upvoted...^^
Thanks!
Beautiful!
Thanks! All that ice caused a lot of problems in our area, but it sure was pretty! And it lasted for days.
Natures beautiful ice sculptures, you captured them so well.
Thank you! Nature does make some pretty sights!
Those are beautiful trees. Eastern White Pines do really well here in Iowa, too. I have not been successful in getting one growing on my property, however.
Our winter has been a roller coaster. A week of bitterly cold temperatures and below-zero windchills, followed by a very mild week where the ground thaws and everything is muddy. We are below zero this morning, but going to be in the 40's again next week. No snow cover to speak of for now. Crazy weather.
Thanks - Douglas-firs are a pretty tree. Well, so are most conifers, lol. I really like the Eastern White Pine. We have a native Western White Pine that is almost the same, but I haven't come across a free one yet. Any free tree I can get is better than no tree at all. What are your common conifers there in Iowa?
It sounds like you've been having a Whipsaw Winter -- back and forth, back and forth. It's hard to go ice fishing with those conditions! I hope you get some snow cover. That's good, slow moisture for the plants. At least the below zero weather knocks back the aphids for next summer's garden, lol!
Eastern Red Cedars are extremely common here, and are in fact considered invasive by some people. But they offer great windbreaks and cover for the deer, so I don't mind them. I believe most pines and spruce species do well here. Eastern Whites are probably most common. I have a Norway Spruce and two Colorado Blue Spruce growing here in our yard.
I think the ice is fairly safe for fishing, though I haven't gone in years. That is something I would like to do once again. Maybe when my boys are older and want to go with me!
So beautiful! I think i missed your previous ice photos, but I'll check it out right now. I noticed your last 2 photos seems to have more light, I liked the effect. I'm not aware of what is HDR, but now I know I must search for it. I really liked the result :)
Thanks, Liliana! There's more ice to come, lol. I was surprised how the different kinds of trees handled the ice. For the HDR, I take several photos, but with different exposure. Then, in editing, they all get overlaid on top of each other. The idea is that it will show more wavelengths of light at once, so your comment about those images having more light fits that idea just right.
Yes, indeed!! So glad they handled it because I really appreciate the beautiful effects of the ice on the trees :)
Have you taken the photos using a tripod?
Awesome photos mate. No snow here but seldom get it now in the UK yet when i was a kid would last months
Thanks! Sorry you aren't getting snow much any more. It sure makes winter seem more like winter. But at least it's easier driving without it. Stay warm and cozy this winter!