And Finally it Came Down

Two years ago last July (that would make it July of 2019) we went on vacation.  We were gone about two weeks.  As we were coming home we were watching the weather out in front of us so we saw that  there was a pretty serious storm going through our neighborhood the morning we got home. We didn't think a whole lot of it, after all, that usually happens a couple of times each summer.  But as we got about ten miles from home we began seeing damage from the storm: broken and twisted trees.  Lot pf trees were down completely, tipped over and uprooted.  It was looking pretty bad.  We began to wonder what shape our own yard was going to be in.  All the way up our street we saw tree after tree with damage, some trees in our own neighborhood were heavily damaged.  We almost didn't dare look at our own yard.

We were relieved to pull up to the house and see the only damage was a limb hanging down from our biggest tree.  A quick check of the whole yard found that this was pretty much the only damage in the entire yard. A branch had broken off and got caught on another branch in the tree.  

Yeah, there were lot of leaves and a few small twigs and branches down and scattered about the yard, but nothing like we were seeing as we came into town.  We were blessed.

We got inside and found the power was also out, it remained out for four days but it wasn't a big problem for us.  We had left the fridge pretty empty before we left.  We had some stuff in the freezer that we ended up cooking or giving away.  But, all in all, our damage and loss from the storm was much less than a lot of people we knew.  

So over the next few days we got the place cleaned up as best we could.  Himbeere was a big help with that.  Since we weren't able to get the branch down right away, he trimmed it up so it was above the cars, you could walk around the driveway without it being in the way.  The branch that was hanging down had broken off and caught over another branch in the tree, way up 30 or more feet above the cars. It was a big tree. 

We all tried everything we could to pull it down but all with no luck.  The closest we got was when I tried to cut down the limb it was hanging on.  I was going to cut it off at the trunk but I couldn't get a ladder to it so that I could safely cut it, I was afraid it would come down and knock the ladder down on the way.  That had happened to Brombeere's father years ago and it hadn't ended well for him.  When we lived in Denver I had tried to trim a branch once; I thought I had it secured with a piece of rope so it wouldn't cause any damage as it fell.  That one didn't end well, either. When the branch went down it snapped the rope and took out the power line into the house.  Gave it a good yank at the house and where the line came from the pole in the alley behind our house.  Caused a whole bunch of sparks, enough so that one of the neighbors called the fire department, who came and made sure it was safe and secure.  Yeah, I had seen falling limbs do enough damage that I wasn't taking any chances with this one.

So the limb hung there all this time.  We had talked to a couple of people about coming with the right equipment to get up to it and safely get it down but scheduling had been a problem.  So for all this time it's hung there above the cars.  A couple of times visitors would point it out to us but I was pretty confident it wasn't going to be an issue.

Then we went on vacation again a couple of weeks ago.  One day, several days before we were scheduled to get back, Himbeere texted us and said the limb had come down.  He said it left a big gouge in the front lawn.  But when we got back we couldn't see any damage to the lawn; he was just joking around - he does that.

I had seen earlier in the year that the branch the limb was hanging on had died but hadn't thought anything of it.  But apparently what happened was the broken limb was on there so tight it killed the branch at the point it was hanging from.  It died and then finally broke off, bringing both the branch and the broken limb down.  

It actually happed at a good time; there was only one vehicle in the driveway, Himbeere's truck.  They both missed the truck and fell to the empty driveway.  Himbeere, after having a good chuckle about the gouged lawn, told us he had hauled them off to a friend's place where they will add them to the next bonfire they have.  Once again we were blessed.  And now the broken limb is down and gone.  All's well that ends well.