It Just Keeps Snowing...
(Thursday March 17 - Sunday 20, 2011... and more)
Luckily I got up early Thursday morning for a hair appointment. During the last snow storm Linda called from Hawaii setting it up because they would be there another week...Long enough to experience the tsunami that rippled across the Pacific Ocean. Anyway, no sooner did I get in the car to head for home when it started pouring rain. After arriving home it turned to snow and just kept piling up. We thought it would be a good idea to fill the bath tub with water just in case. Sure enough, the electricity went off until late Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening Sue and Cheryl came over for pizza and a card game. Sunday afternoon Cheryl and Bucky brought us a sled piled with firewood from the wood shed. It was wonderful! That little dog pulled the sled with such gusto that Grammy couldn't resist rewarding him with a special treat.
A week later we finally made it to town. Mel got his hair cut, we bought some groceries, bought a couple of hamburgers at Burger King, and then watched the City League basketball game at the Legion building. It started snowing again when we got home. The next morning this is how everything looked....It was eerie quiet and gray looking. The tree limbs were heavily weighted down with snow. The cedars were bending over with too much snow on the top limbs.
I was in the kitchen and Mel in the bedroom when we heard an unmistakable, terrible thump on the house. We both yelled and ran to see where the tree fell. The top had broken off this cedar tree behind the bedroom. It hit the ground in front of the tree; then broke again and the top turned sideways and landed on the roof of the garage instead of over the bedroom. We really feel thankful.
Cheryl and Bucky are back in business getting wood for us and them.
And how about a little reward for my hard work?
Look how hard he works in the deep snow!
The live oak at the bottom of the driveway also uprooted and fell from it's place at the right.
Next to the rescue is neighbor Dave with his large tire vehicle breaking the trail and bringing in more wood a couple of days later for Cheryl and us. Because of him we were able to get out the following Wednesday. Our electricity was out four days.
And then it finally seems like spring has sprung...
Thursday March 31st wonderful Kirk stopped by to get the tree off and survey the damage. Thanks so much everybody, for being so helpful when there's a need.
Like the retired P. G. E. lineman said, "If you want to live in Paradise, you'll just have to put up with it." I think we'll have to get rid of some cedar trees that are too close to the house, and maybe purchase a generator. It reminds me of the old days of deep snow and being without power during the winter and early spring. Guess we've been pushing our luck.
And then....
This Monday (April 11) Kirk and son Drew started cleaning up the mess. Kirk cut the broken tree down and Drew is towing it away. With a little help from Mel they cleaned up all the broken pieces that were on the roof and lawn.
Then they began repairing the roof. Tuesday Drew put tar paper over the repaired roof just in case...And wouldn't you know it! This morning it was snowing. A couple of inches that didn't stick around too long.
(Friday April 15th)
They waited a couple of days for things to dry out and were back on the job on Friday.
Drew's removing the old tar paper he put on for protection earlier.
And throws it in the dump trailer parked in front of the garage.
Then he and Kirk apply new tar paper and begin to put new shingles over it.
Later in the day Drew's friend Brent shows up to help him finish the shingles. They completed the job just as it was getting dark.
This winters snow load for so long has taken it's toll on the lawn. Hopefully it'll recover. The peonies above the rock wall are just beginning to poke through the ground. But I've seen them covered with snow after blooming, so I'm not holding my breath.
Thanks Kirk, Drew (and Brent) for doing such a wonderful job so quickly, and for cleaning up the mess. You made it look easy, but it was a lot of work. We're very grateful!.
