Caltrops of ice are scattered across the ground behind the back door. The blowing wind broke the encasing ice off the tree limbs and embedded the broken pieces in the slush covering the ground. The alleyway across the road is a quarter mile long slip and slide.

The areas of grass not covered by the snow look like museum exhibits - green and brown glimmer behind a protective encasing. Walking across them would normally be an exercise in step/crunch/sink. But now the inch deep snow is covered by a quarter inch of pure ice in turn covered by another inch of frozen snow.

The disconnect between the outdoors and indoors is jolting. I step from 20 degree brutal winds into a warm house, where food is immediately available, the world is just a keyboard click or button push away, and the killer storm is reduced to an ignorable sound that plays in the background.