Storm!

So Saturday at the trial people were talking about snow.  Lots of snow (well, for October anyway).  We were supposed to get a foot in VT, which is part of the reason Dave and I decided not to wait for ribbons and just head on back, get groceries and settle in for the night.  In the end, it really didn't turn out to be bad up in Vermont.  We got about 4 inches and it was lovely and pretty and there was no damage.  In Vermont.

Then we came home.

All evening activities at church were cancelled, the traffic lights in town were out, school was cancelled for Monday, and branches were down all over the place.  Compared to a lot of people, we were pretty lucky.  No one was hurt.  A big branch landed where Mom had parked her car all week.  Luckily she'd put it in the garage before the storm.  Another branch was inches away from Dad's car.  There is still a big (12" diameter) branch on top of the garage that we somehow have to get down.  But other than that, we had power by the time Dave and I got back, and the house itself was unharmed.

The next morning I went out to check on the agility area.  Here are some pictures:

Disaster zone!  It would not be easy to do agility there.

Time to fix fence!

It's hard to even see out there.

Uh oh...A-Frame!  You are so young!  PLEASE don't be broken!

The top looks alright...gulp...

Amazing.  Literally inches to spare.  You can't really tell from here, but the limb is resting on the small sapling next to the A-frame.  That sapling's bark is all scraped off on the side the limb fell on.  It's even bent at the top so it's leaning over the A-frame, but it pushed the big branch off.  If it hadn't been there, it would have been a direct hit.

Closer view.  Freaking amazing.

Another general view of the chaos.

...and another.

But then...after 2+ hours of work, things are a lot better, even if there's a long way to go:

One of the three huge piles of branches I pulled out of the agility area.  All three piles are taller than I am.

The second pile.

A much clearer view, even if it still needs a good raking.

And more clear views needing raking.  So many green leaves shows that it's still mid fall here even if there's (a little) snow on the ground.

Jonah looking at his narrowly missed A-frame, and the big tree looking a lot more manageable.  No one was around while I was working so I didn't want to get out the chain saw, which this branch really begs for.  Tomorrow I'll slice it into a few pieces so I can move it out of the way.  

Far from perfect, but much, much better!