Things That Go Bump..
Storm Bella blew through on Saturday night.
And left her mark.
The ground was already saturated, thanks to all the recent rain. And as you can see the tree was pretty top heavy with ivy. The header shot on this post shows the position of the tree in happier days (centre).
It hasn’t done a lot for Mike’s newly seeded section of lawn. Or my extended lonicera hedge.
But it could have been worse. Much, much worse. It’s a hefty tree. But had it been just a few feet taller..
Goodness, a right pain but as you say it could have been so much worse!xxx
So glad you didn’t get more damage–looks like a bit of a close call.
Lawns and rain do have a rather complex relationship, don’t they?!
I walked across the lawn to get one of the pictures. It’s like a swamp!
The ground is so wet, I was half expecting a tree down when I saw the weather forecast. Just not quite so close..!
Oh crikey! That was lucky! Ivy does so much to weaken the trees. Down the road the only damage were fallen branches and leaning trees that had ivy on them. Here wasn’t bad, a couple of old twiggy branches and a water butt lid doing a flying saucer impersonation! It was definitely a wild night with no sleep. Nor last night with silly pitty patty noises from the snow – all gone now. Another snow and ice warning for Wednesday/Thursday. Just passing on the good news!!!!
Hope you managed to get some sleep during it all!
You’ve had snow? None here, are you high up?
On the Devon forecast there’s a severe weather warning for snow and ice but on the local page no snow at all. Just light rain and the temp isn’t supposed to drop below 3C. They are hedging their bets methinks. No wonder it all gets so confusing!
Yesterday we did but not enough to make a snowman! It was crunchy though. Seemed to be more on the cars than on the ground! Today was lovely but cold. Rain this afternoon but not bad, just a quick blow through. Yes, we are up 750ft above sea level with sloping hill to the south and west – very exposed but the views are nice – especially the cloudscapes! In the summer, the breeze is most welcome – when we actually have a summer! We are protected by a bank to the east and north with the assortment of trees along it, mainly ash (surprised they are still intact!), but beech and some oaks on the east while lower down there are the usual mixed hedging, dog roses, sloes, gorse, brambles and a spindle!
Agree with the forecast, a lot is very hit and miss but I think we are due a big one this winter.
I envy your views. Being half way down a valley full of trees views are limited here. But as many of the trees are also ash that could soon change! The plus side is that we’re sheltered, especially from the north. The storms are felt much more strongly at the top of the hill. Sometimes I can see the trees thrashing about up there but at the house there is barely a breath of wind.
The wind in the trees can be quite alarming to listen to! Also the power lines add their special whooooo sounds. HRH has earplugs but I can’t abide things in my ears so listen to the creaking and the groaning and hope there is no power outage! Our northern side of the house gets cold – mainly the utility and kitchen and the bathroom, but the picture windows let in so much sun that we have to open the windows as it gets so hot! Well, that is when the sun shines! Even the kitties flop down on the tiles to cool down! LOL!
What I do like is the sound of heavy rain in the trees, a very restful sound that reminds me of holidays in the tropics.. albeit colder! And I love that you can hear the rain coming from quite a distance.. almost enough to get from the patio table to under cover before the shower reaches us!!
Oh yes I agree with you – rain in the night and even gentle breezes are very soothing to drift into sleep. You can smell the rain too – easier on summer days – and that is such a fresh, sweet earthy aroma. I seem to have a sensitive sense of smell like my grandmother – just run past the Lush shop – that is painful! LOL
😂😂
A shame about the tree, but glad it didn’t smash your greenhouse! We have a creek that borders our property and the trees are often undermined and fall during storms.
I am sure that’s what happened here. There is another tree, on the other side of the river, that I’ve been watching for a while. It leans heavily and is half in/half out of the water. I would have guessed that one rather than the one which did fall but it must surely only be a matter of time. Part and parcel of nature and the natural evolution of the landscape.
Heavens! It certainly could have! The lawn and hedge will grow again but even your Green Fingers would have trouble growing the glass!
The greenhouse must have experienced quite a shaking given how near the tree fell. I think it woke me up momentarily, the wardrobe door shook although at the time I didn’t know what it was. Glass breaking would definitely have had me out of bed!
Whew – greenhouse intact.
Whew indeed!
Oh, I’d have cried on your behalf if it’d taken out a section of your greenhouse. I hope it did less damage to the lawn and hedge than you imagine. Trees come down with some degree of regularity on our main road down the hill into town and I’m always a little nervous when I travel it either during a storm or soon thereafter, not that we’ve had all that much rain of late.
The creaking of the trees overhead can be quite alarming when I’m gardening near the edge of the wood. Those are places I tend to avoid on a windy day I must admit. I feel very glad that we took out so many of the trees immediately around the house early on.
Oh dear, sorry for the saturation, but I’m so glad it wasn’t worse!
It is especially wet this year. Goodness knows when I’ll next be able to get out on the soil. So much needs doing too.
Oh dear, nothing worse than a tree coming down, but, as others have said, at least it didn’t fall on the greenhouse. There are two enormous eucalypts trees not far from us, and they both have ivy creeping up the trunks of the trees…that is a worry.
Will you be able to get someone to chop up the wood from the tree…or do it yourselves ?
We shall have a go at some of the tree. The branches resting on the hedge and the lawn aren’t too thick so we should be able to reduce the mass of the crown. It just needs the slope to dry out, it wouldn’t be safe at the moment. The main trunk will have to wait for the guys with the heavy equipment, I don’t think our little chainsaw would cope. There’s enough work around the place to have them in for a couple of days at some point.
Those eucalypts can be mighty beasts. I remember coming up against a fallen one in Tasmania. The diameter of the trunk was as wide as I am high!
Oopsies!
Indeed!
It was a stinker wasn’t it? Glad you are both safe and well though x
Worst for a while. Didn’t get much sleep that night. Hope all is well with you too.
I’m pleased that, like us, you were comparatively unscathed
Glad to hear you escaped too much damage. I read about the 100 mph gusts at The Needles!
A lucky escape! Just a couple of broken pots here and a leaky conservatory. Could have been a lot worse given the strength of the wind, but it has been the hail keeping me awake!
No hail so far, or snow. Just frosty nights. We shall see what the next couple of days brings. All those plants opening early are getting a shock!
A good omen for a better 2021?
We need a good omen don’t we. There’s a lot resting on the first couple of months of 2021, on both sides of the pond.
Oh dear perhaps I shouldn’t have given this a like! Foot in mouth again? I was just pleased that the damage was minimal. I’m sitting on my inner Pollyanna who could send you plenty of good reasons as to why the tree is better down than up.
I’d agree. If it was going to come down better that it be in the middle of the night when no-one is standing underneath it. And once we get the debris removed the whole area will look better and be more open. I had my money on a couple of other trees going first, this one took me by surprise. But now that we have to have the tree fellas in the remaining dodgy ones can come out too.
So glad the greenhouse was spared. We’ve some trees that need to be cut back…this might be the impetus I need to get it done as they are near the house. Bigger issue is a neighbor’s huge tree that if it falls our way, it will completely destroy our home given its size. Has already dropped several large branches from the top that have grazed our house. But not much one can do about it when they aren’t responsive our concerns.
Oh gosh, that neighbouring tree sounds frightening. The house here was surrounded by trees, claustrophobically so, when we moved in. We had almost 30 out within weeks and then later an 80 foot spruce that had been allowed to grow six feet from the house wall! But if it’s a neighbour’s tree that is difficult.
I didn’t get a lot of sleep the night of the storm. This year has frazzled my nerves to breaking point.
Storm Bella hardly touched us so I didn;t realise it was so bad elsewhere, Glad the damage was limited.
The storms that come in from the Atlantic favour us first! I read today that the weather patterns are forming up pretty much as they did before the Beast from the East. A Sudden Stratospheric Warming apparently. That’s all we flippin’ well need.
It seems an appropriate end to 2020. Glad it missed your house. Looking forward to a brighter 2021.
This year has thrown everything at us. Even trees. I’m desperately hoping 2021 will be better although it likely won’t be just yet. As in the US, Covid is getting worse.
Covid, Brexit, the prospect of a hard winter. I think I shall hibernate. Wake me up in Spring please!