ARTFULLY AVOIDING THE LANDFILL (& driving my husband crazy) ONE PIECE OF JUNK AT A TIME

6/27/11

Lions & Tigers & Bears - Oh My!

Good grief.  I guess I better stop complaining about the weather because it seems the upper atmosphere has ears and doesn't like me grumping about all the rain.  I think there are very few places in the United States that have actually had a nice Spring.  Fires, floods, tornadoes - you name it, it's been awful everywhere.  Guess I really didn't have much to complain about compared to what others are facing and losing.  I was complaining about cold, cloudy and wet.  Nothing, I tell you, nothing compared to the devastation elsewhere.

So, I guess it's my own darn fault that I lost one of my good (tree) friends in the storm last night.


He was a goofy looking thing, for sure, but he was like the Sentry at the end of our driveway.  Our personal Wal-mart wanna be greeter. Our unique, not-another-one-like-it-in-the-world tree.


Snap.  Gone.


By far, the worst damage we've had out here from storms since moving out here in 2003.   We've had wind storms that picked up pieces of outdoor furniture and blew them across the yard and downed huge limbs, but never have we had whole, giant trees destroyed.  

Okay, so we didn't have lions and tigers and bears, but there were plenty of "Oh My's!" as we walked around the property surveying the damage.




Inside the spare garage... at least the new garage door opener wasn't destroyed.


Poor little spare garage.

Grain bins don't belong in corn fields.

(If you click to enlarge the picture, you will see Dolly Llama is a little confused about the large object in the corn field too)

The charming old machine shed took a beating too.  The same tree that embedded itself in the garage roof, banged into the machine shed...


... and actually moved the building.


Mind you, the building wasn't in the best shape to begin with, but at least it was straight.  The boards were not leaning to the east before the storm.


This was another giant beauty that was hard to see fall.  It held remnants of a tree house built years and years ago and was a wonderful source of shade for the little grain building and the llamas.




It fell into the fence and took out a couple sections.  The llamas, like the goats in one of the other pens on the north side of the property took advantage of the breaks and were roaming freely around the yard this morning!


Considerable damage, for sure.  BUT, there are more things that weren't damaged... our vehicles, our house, our little pond, our family.  It could have been much, much worse.  

The big machine shed will have to come down now before it falls down with the next big wind.  (but won't those 100 year old boards make some awesome, rustic items?)  The spare garage may disappear too.  Its cement floor may become a basketball court.  The trees, as they were, cannot be replaced, that is the saddest part of all.  The appearance of things out here will change - slowly, dramatically, but isn't that the way it is in life?  Change, always change.

7 comments:

  1. OMG That is awful!! We were on I80 at Avoca when we ran into it. thought it was going to blow the Escape over.. we got a room there. What a mess for you.. You and Glen will be in our prayers for sure.. Probably scared the baageezies out of you and animals!

    Kristol Schwenn

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  2. I'm so glad your home and cars weren't destroyed. The trees will make someone some good firewood. Will you be able to make use of them or will you offer them to someone else who can use them?

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  3. I am so glad all is well with the living things... well all except the grand old trees. I feel your pain.
    Whoa, I sure hope things get cleaned up quickly.
    Again, glad there was no real property damage (cars, home, etc)
    It sounds like you have it all worked out in your head with the bb court and the fabulous old lumber!
    Best of luck Coleen getting it all cleaned up. Be safe!
    gail

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  4. Coleen! Wow awesome pictures. Awesome in the true sense that God is awesome. So glad you and your family are ok and the house and cars are not damaged.
    Always sorry to lose a tree. Especially your Greeter on the drive way. I always like the friendly face on that tree!
    Hope y'all are able to use the board all up and make good use of as much wood as you can.
    Basketball sounds like a good use of cement.

    take care, Pat

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  5. Wow, that must have been quite a storm! Lucky it didn't get your house for sure. The weather HAS been crazy this year, hasn't it?

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  6. Oh Coleen, what a shame. Thank God you and your family are alright. The rest can be replaced.

    I will never buy a house with big trees again. Every storm this year I have lost big limbs and last year one went through my shed. I did get a nice new shed out of the deal but the agony of getting things cleaned up is enough to drive you batty. My heart is in my throat everytime there is a breeze.

    Maybe you can use the 100 year old wood for your cupboard doors that you wanted hubby to make.

    Hope things progress quickly for you Coleen.

    Hugs, Deb

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  7. It sure has been a hard year there, Coleen! I'm sorry to see the damage you have had...you have kept your spirits up, though! Sending loving thoughts and prayers...XO

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