There's a hole in the sky where a tree used to be.

30 October 2012

We got lucky:  We're part of the 1/3 of NJ that still has power, part of the 1/4 of our township that still has its lights on.

We got lucky:  Our neighbor's diseased oak didn't fall on our house; it remained standing and spat branches into our yard instead.

We got lucky:  The tree in the corner fell into our neighbor's yard, taking out a few yards of fence.  Nobody got hurt and nothing more than the fence was damaged.

We're on good terms with our neighbors, a brother and sister, and their mother.  I think we drive the sister crazy with our unruly back yard.  Hers is impeccable.  This disruption is going to send her 'round the bend.

I knocked on her door and we went out to her back porch to survey the damage.  I was surprised at how calm she was.  She said she was just grateful that nobody got hurt.  

The tree's upper branches came within feet of her deck.  The trunk bypassed her religious statues (hmm...).  I told her that of course I'd pay for the removal.  She said, "It's your tree."  I replied, "It's yours now," and we laughed. I told her that I didn't know how long it would be before we could get it cleared away. We were both sure that this would be low priority.

I went back into my yard and started to clear away the branches littering the front and back.  Dogwood (that tree's gotta go too), tulip poplar (next door), maple (ours), and, of course, the dying oak (on the garage roof, the ends within reach for an easy drag down), snapped bamboo (so that's what I heard last night, if it wasn't the black elm tumbling).

Our normal tree guy's phone service is knocked out.  I found another one, who lives about a mile away.  He'll be over as soon as he's finished clearing a mess around the corner from us.  

Of course I took pictures, for insurance purposes if we need it, and for you guys to look at.

The big "c" in the ground is where a root was.  I wonder if this was the tree that was crawling into our sewer line.

A roof demon.

The view from my neighbor's house:

What I saw when I woke up:

As I said, we got lucky.