Discussion»Questions»Environment» Condolences to you 18 million eastcoasters under blizzard conditions. Hope you stay safe. Is this your first blizzard? Is it your worst?
It was scary Harry. I could not believe the sound. It literally was uprooted completely.
We had taken down its' twin last spring because that one had died. The one that was left still had life in it, but we were thinking of taking it down too.
I am so relieved no one was hurt because this massive tree would have killed someone if it made a direct hit on a house.
A lot of trees were brought down here with the wind and took power out for many. I was just thankful I had two trees taken down last spring that would have hit the house had they still been standing before that storm. I have twice had trees hit the house in the past, one came right down in the middle of the LR/DR and a couple others near the house...I am very familiar with the sound!
I hope you get things taken care of soon, Peas. What a mess!
Wow Boz! That is a lot to happen. Wind storms are no joke if you have a lot of tall, mature trees surrounding you. I actually have a bit of a tree phobia when driving in a storm. I don't think it's that unrealistic of a fear either since it doesn't take much to bring a big tree down.
I love big trees, too, and have quite a few. There are some trees, like those that hit my house and the two I had taken down, that are prone to twisting and falling in wind storms. With others, a lot depends on the tree itself and soil conditions. But sometimes Mother Nature is just too much for even healthy trees with good roots in good soil.
My husband had bought this house for its' trees. They really were pretty and offered shade in the summer. Now with these two giants gone, the house looks a bit bare. Thank goodness though, the arborvitaes along the side of the house are still standing proud. They really are beautiful and I would imagine it took years for ours to be as large and full as they are.
There was a row of baby pines the previous owner had planted on the lot line here. For some reason, they did not do well. My neighbor replaced several with hardier pine trees. Two of them have now dwarfed all the others, twice as big as the spruce planted at the same time. They are beautiful trees and I would really like to plant some more, but I haven't, as yet, been able to determine just what type of pine they are. They work well as a privacy barrier and are gorgeous when laden with snow.
That is really pretty, Peas! I need to go with bigger trees here, as it would take too many of that type. My neighbors on either side and I each have huge yards. We transplanted a row of white pines on the other side, which worked really well as a privacy fence until my FIL decided to do me a favor and trimmed all the lower branches...lol
I feel you with this dilemma. I have a good part of our back yard completely exposed. My husband is tempted to plant a bunch of bamboo since it grows fast and it grows tall. We like sitting in our yard in the warm weather and privacy is everything to us.
I have a bunch of bamboo, and do plan to move some for privacy in a couple of areas. It is beautiful and I really enjoy it, but it may not work well along lot lines. It spreads relentlessly, so along lot lines, it would spread onto your neighbors property if not properly contained. I'm planning on moving some to areas within my yard to block views of my fire pit and possibly a couple other areas where any spread will be on my own property.
The bamboo would work on the one side since we butt up against an apartment complex and their parking lot. But yes, the back wall would never work with the neighbor and I really couldn't blame her if she didn't want our bamboo in her yard.
We too plan to move in the next few years. Our dream is to have a smaller home for the two of us, but a bigger chunk of property. A fire pit and some chairs would be very desirable for us as well.
Oh, I am aware. I love it, my husband hated it and spent several years trying to kill it....without me knowing. Ha ha ha...it thrived no matter what he did. :)
It's along one side of the house now, between the house and the drive. My kitchen window looks out onto it. Before the end of the summer, the window is covered (and beyond). I have a slew of birds that love it and are all over it. When it flowers, the bees are all over it, too.
I would really like to have some bee hives out back, eventually. If/when I do, I'll be transplanting some out back, too.
This storm mainly gave us a lot of sleet in the SE part of Pa. I know others to the north got a lot of snow.
We have had a few significant blizzards here, one happening last year that dumped about 20''.
The biggest one ever happened in 1996. Philadelphia got a record 33" and it was bitter cold. So much snow fell that it bowed in part of my roof! I had serious structural damage that required a lot of repair work. It would have probably collapsed had a very brave neighbor of mine didn't go up there with a shovel!!
When you're in an area that isn't used to getting a lot of snow, no one thinks about roof rakes. We are so used to it up here in NH that no homeowner is without one and, if you can't reach certain areas yourself, there are plenty of people who have made it part of their winter businesses (included with shoveling & plowing). Roof collapse is one of the biggest worries we have here.
You just reminded me that I need to call a friend in Newark, DE. Has the snow stopped now where you are?
I can believe that in NH. In Philly, big snows are not the norm, so when we get something bigger than a foot and a half, it's major news.
Newark got about 4", so they should be OK. The storm is over for most of us, although we are getting some snow showers from the backside of the storm right now. It shouldn't add much to the total accumulation.
Good luck with that tree situation. I know dealing with the insurance company and contractors is a nightmare and a long road. I hope your neighbors are working with you and handling the situation in a friendly fashion.
Our next door neighbor is a gem and we are working nicely together to get everything fixed. The tree guy already swept in and got every stick of the tree removed. But the neighbor behind me is spitting mad that the electric company trucks left tire tracks in her yard. The wires all run behind our homes, so when the tree went, she had the best access for them to repair the wires. I understand her frustration, but she yelled at my husband and another contractor the other morning. My husband assured her that her yard would be repaired, even if he had to come out there with garden tools and sod himself. She had no other damage.
Oh wow! Structural damage is VERY COSTLY to repair. So far you're okay though with this one? When do they say it will move out or has it already PeaPod? Thank you for your reply and fingers crossed no one gets hurt! :)
We really missed the bulk of the snow. The north part of my state got 2 feet. But they are quite used to it. My area got about 6", a lot of it was sleet. The storm pulled out around noon yesterday for us. Now we are still getting a few flurries. It's colder than normal though. Whatever fell is sticking around.
Harry 