Snapped

An exceptionally large gust from Storm Eunice snapped the trunks of two large, healthy pine trees in our garden just after midday. P was at the window as the tree in the main photo, similar in size to the two still standing, bent and fell, broken about a metre and a half from the ground. A few minutes later, he called me into the annexe - a former granny flat at one side of our bungalow, for which we have unrealised plans but which is currently being used mainly as a sorting out space for P's shed and filing cabinet clearing. As I followed him, I noticed a strong smell of pine needles: a large pine which grew beside the lawn at the side of the house was obscuring the window and resting on the roof. The floor was scattered with bits of plaster, roof tile, pine needles and loft insulation. Most of the ceiling is still intact, but the plaster near the top of the window lintel has two significant holes through which we can see daylight, the curtain rail has snapped and one curtain has been partly pulled up through the hole by a branch which must have come through and sprung back. Until the tree is removed - which won't be easy, even for the tree surgeon - we can't see the extent of the structural damage. 

Fortunately no-one is hurt and the insurers were very helpful, authorising us to go ahead with tree removal and emergency roof repairs as soon as possible - we just need to send photos. A tree surgeon came to look at teatime and will be back tomorrow. The extra was taken for insurance rather than aesthetic reasons, with apologies for the washing line, which wasn't my main preoccupation, but gives an impression of the size of this tree, which snapped about two metres above the ground; the trunk is perhaps 70 cm in diameter. We have also lost half a dozen greenhouse panes, a small matter in comparison but I'm not looking forward to clearing it.

I blipped yesterday's much nicer abstract seed head shadows just an hour or so ago, so if you have a minute you might flick back and look.