C For Ceiling

Day 81: There are a number of different versions of the mnemonic for "stalactite" versus "stalagmite." I learned it as "C for ceiling, G for ground," i.e., "stalaCtite" as opposed to "stalaGmite." Did you know that there is a related term for the structure created when the two of them meet? Oh, you could call them "pillars" or "columns" and be equally correct, but I much prefer the less frequently used word "stalagnate." I have examples of all three, rendered in sparkling ice, on the various corners of my house. It is a less-than-optimum condition, and unless I had taken up a vigil outdoors overnight, unpreventable. The best I can do at this point is knock them free and hope that the gutters and downspouts are up to the task ahead of them. Temperatures have crept above 32 degrees, and snow level is predicted to rise to 3500 feet mid-week. Is a flood next on the list of PNW weather events? Time will tell.