The road shoulders are littered with trees cut just enough to get them off the road. It is no wonder I was without power for four days during the Big Dump of '09'
I stopped by Client #1's today and it too was severely mangled. A garden with a strong evergreen component for screening and winter interest has taken a big hit. Tomorrow I will start the cleanup. Just a few short weeks ago I was contemplating evergreen screening for my own garden and have now witnessed this strange destruction of conifers. It gives one pause.
Back at the low spot on a mountain top the destruction was much less severe, thank you very much. Still that vent pipe on the left should be standing up straight like the vent pipe on the right. Now I have another reason to climb up the side of the resident gardeners house. I still have not investigated the possible entrance hole of the varmint making the loud chewing sound in the ceiling. Damn varmints!!
The poor juniper below the deck is only going to be a shell of its former self when the snow finally melts and releases it. After the damage is cut off there may not even be enough worth saving.
The other conifer collection out front looks to have fared a bit better. There seems to be less damage so far. It is sad to grow something for fifteen years to become a major element of the garden and then lose it to a situation it has withstood numerous times before.
Gardening is a crap shoot. Sometimes that notion is shouted loud and clear.
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This brings back memories of us losing our big pine trees a couple of winters ago. I still miss them. The birds do too. We don't have the variety of birds that we had when there were the mature pines for shelter. Sigh~~
I don't know if you've read any of the late Henry Mitchell's books, but he used to say the same thing about the crapshoot, often hilariously.
On the other hand, it's an opportunity to plant something else one has been craving!
bev
OMW, what could have caused all this if not the snow. I've seen wet now cause a lot of damage. It' so heavy.
It's no wonder the power was off so long.
Yes, it is awful to watch something grow so long then to loose it like this.
I do hope all can be salvaged. Maybe when the warm sun comes out & things start to grow it will look better even if you have to give it a slight hair cut.
Varmints, nuisance. lol
Boy, I see I need to learn to either spell or type.
wet snow----It's so heavy.
Every now and then, Mother Nature feels a need to prune.
I hope you had a good Christmas in FL and that the new year will be a good one for you.
What an adventure the last few posts have revealed! Glad you got off the mountain and returned to most things being/doing well. That mountain view is beautiful~~gail Happy New year.
We've had a couple of icestorms here in the last 15 years that snapped the tops off of a lot of evergreens too. We were lucky not to lose power in the most recent episode but my FIL in Morrisville didn't have power for a week. He still had a working wood stove in the living room and a shed fully stocked with wood, so he was better off than most. He used a generator for the well. Not having power in summer is bad, but in a lot of ways I think being without power in winter is worse.
There's no doubt about it, gardening is definitely a crap shoot. Makes it interesting though -- the garden is never the same from year to year.
Lisa it is fortunate that none of the trees were toppled completely. I saw plenty of that where the roots let go and the whole tree fell over.
Bev I feel a feeling a lot of new opportunities will be presented to many folks come spring.
Lola it is a real mess. Looks like a hurricane went through here.
Les mother nature was in the mood big time for some pruning. Florida was nice and I would have stayed longer, but for the kitties. Next time, to the kennel they go.
Gail this is shaping up to be the winter to remember. Why back in the winter of '09'...
Sweetbay this is my winter of lessons on what is needed to be prepared for life in my own cabin next winter.
Recommendation: Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season
http://skylightpaths.com/Press%20Releases/PR535.htm
At my Father's in Virginia several evergreens, one a Christmas tree that we had years and years ago (maybe 30) was leaning dangerously - I hope to get a neighbor to try to pull it up. I don't remember snow doing as much damage as the ice storms I've seen in Michigan - wow, those were something.
(Keep reminding yourself that the days are getting longer).
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