10 years ago on the night before the last day of school (I was still working as a school nurse), May 25, 2011 to be exact, a straight-line wind blew in from the southwest and tore off the tops of the very old, very tall trees that were standing in its path.
We had just mowed and straightened the yard and porch that evening and I was taking my after-supper-nap – not to be confused with the rest-up-for-bed nap – when Casey woke me up to tell me that there was something coming our way. I’d slept through the first siren, but the second went off shortly after I woke. It looked bad outside, black skies, pouring rain that was coming down sideways as it was hurled by the wind, and I took shelter (with Wink) in our guest bathroom…even Casey came back and stood in the doorway with us as we listened to the rumbling and howling of the wind. I was seriously freaking out when I heard the sound of cracking trees and the whooshing of falling branches over the room where I’d just been laying…
When it passed, we surveyed the damage… Step into the WayBack Machine and let’s revisit 2011…
weary
May 29, 2011
it’s been a tough several days…i’ve gone from dazed and confused to feeling trampled underfoot (tee-hee). anyway, now i know what i’ll be doing with my summer:
i feel the loss of those 2 trees acutely, but it’s so stupid to complain about it…manymany people have it a lot worse…still…i’m bummed. definitely keeping busy, though.
good news…
May 30, 2011
we found the rocking chair..!
we’re definitely making progress…here’s a view from 5/26:
here’s the way it looks today:
of course, i use the term “we” loosely–you can bet that casey will not stop until this is cleaned up. i’m not safe with a chainsaw, but i can handle a lopper and a rake. we’re hauling the branches down to the woods (where, surprise, there’s a whole bunch of trees down) and starting a new hedgerow. it’s all okay…
not quite, but almost
June 2, 2011
except for the fact that i forgot it was thursday and missed a vbs meeting, it’s been a very productive day. you see, all the gardens are fine and happy…it was only the front (west) of the house that was affected by the storm. much like facebook, where you can lurk all day, i know that a lot of people have been driving by the house…first looking at the damage, then marveling at how fast casey is clearing it away. honestly, watching the man wears me out…i’ve had to take all his naps for him…
one week after The Trees Fell…
all that’s left is to actually drop the trees, and the tree guys that we called the day after the storm Promised they’d be out this week. i’m in no hurry, though; in fact, i hope they wait and let us take a day off tomorrow. and wink, the first one out of the room when we heard the trees falling, claims he never was afraid…
It’s clear I was bummed by this event, but I’m here to say it again: I was Terrifically Bummed. The only thing that made me feel better was the idea that I would screen in the porch, which we did in 2012. All’s well that ends well.
We’re headed into a week of scattered thunderstorms…May all of Our Trees stay upright…
Peace
Blather & Balderdash 