Nature Flexed

Did you get those bad storms and wind last night? Here in parts of the Northeast, around 8 o'clock, we had 60 to 80 mph gusts that pushed our neighbor's birch tree over and onto our roof and new fence.

So I took the day to deal with the neighbor, the insurance company, the fence people, and the tree removal service. It's going pretty well. The owner (next door) called a tree service and they were here at 7:30 this morning with a cherry picker. By 8:30 they were gone and so was the birch tree. An hour ago, a different crew showed up and ground the stump. Twenty minutes later, all that remained of the thirty foot birch was a large divot-shaped scar in the neighbor's yard.

A bit sad, really. I know for a fact that the winged residents of the property had a fondness for that tree. And it was a nice part of the view from the deck.

The roof is fine. The fence isn't destroyed -- and the damage is relatively minor. We'll want the panel replaced that was bent, but I can do that myself since the posts don't need to be re-sunk and we can pick up a replacement panel inexpensively. It could be worse (can't it always?).

This all made for a very exciting dining experience last night since I was in the middle of grilling salmon on the deck right next to where the tree leaned over. We then laughed in the face of death by eating dinner as usual as the fallen tree loomed menacingly outside the dining room window. My rationalization was that we'd hear the fence breaking if the tree were going to come down any further and thusly have time to get out of the way with the dinner service intact.

I'm thrilled that my theory wasn't put to the test.