In Which Tragedy Strikes

Our biggest tree has fallen. :-(

A huge storm moved across the United States and into our area on Sunday, leaving devastation in its wake. Tornado warnings began for our area around noon. Big winds roared through central Pennsylvania around 3 p.m. It sounded like a freight train. The winds were so bad, I thought they might blow the windows out. Yes, it was horrible. Maybe some of the worst I've ever seen.

The winds destroyed the mighty (100+ feet tall) red oak at the rear corner of our yard. I walked into the bedroom that's at the back end of the house and looked out the window just in time to watch it happen: the wind moving ahead of the huge storm's arrival caught the tree and threw it down. It was scary powerful stuff, just like in a movie. The tree came down in about THREE SECONDS FLAT, the wind pushing it, giving it falling speeds faster than gravity. There was no time to run, no time for anything.

If we had been out in the yard, we would likely have been killed by it. We are SO grateful that it missed the house but it looks like the shed didn't fare so well. I walked out as soon as it was safe to do so and took some photos. This one shows the tree, the shed, and the house, to the left. Had the tree fallen a few clicks to the left, it may have destroyed our house, most likely with us in it. THAT is a sobering thought.

Now, let me add that this is NOT my first rodeo. Oh no. Storms here seem to be arriving with more and more powerful winds. Do you think the climate here is the same as it was when you were little? If you do, THINK AGAIN. I have lived here my whole life; the weather has been CHANGING for the worse. Storms are more powerful, winds are more scary.

We've lost a number of trees over the years, but none of those experiences (or even this one) can top what happened the first winter I spent in this house. The first week of January 2005, an ice storm brought about a hundred trees down on my property overnight. 

A tree fell about every 15 minutes that night, starting around 11 p.m. Most of them landed ON the house, taking out power and phone for days. I was living here by myself at that time, and I lay in my bed that night like a stick, wide awake, not sleeping, praying for the safety of myself and the house.

Our tree removal guys told us that time that ours was the worst devastation they had seen in three counties. So anyway, I only share that story to say: we had a very scary and bad and horrible experience on this day (and yes, I shook for hours), but I've seen and lived through much, much worse.

I wanted to add one thing. Right after it fell, I went out to look at the tree, and the cardinal - not our youngster who was born last spring, but his father - was singing up a storm. It was bizarre. A horrible storm, and the winds, and the scare, and the tree fall. And then the red bird singing his heart out. I have to admit that it lifted my spirits, just a tiny bit. So here's a shout-out to Papa Cardinal: thanks, I needed that.

You know, it's been a really weird time. I have a bunch of songs running through my head that can't even get close to describing what is going on in there; it would take a whole SOUNDTRACK. There's a hole in the canopy of our yard that wasn't there before and you know how I love trees. I am GRIEVING the loss of our biggest tree, which is now kindling on the ground. Anyway, here are some songs:

Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty, Free-Fallin' (somebody put TP's vocals over SN's tribute performance of this song upon TP's passing).
The Eagles, Hole in the World.
And for our cardinal, our precious beautiful bird, who sings his heart out, no matter how awful things get here, here is Johnny Cash, with A Singer of Songs.

A link to our last major tree fall can be found here. That one got the house.