Sunday, December 28, 2008

Today's dilemma

Last night the motion detector light came on around 10:30 and when I looked out, this is what I saw. The red bud trees have several trunks at the base, or maybe it was several seeds that all came up at once, looking like one tree with many trunks. This is the branch the squirrels use to get onto my roof, and I cut off several of the branches this fall. I was standing on a 4 step ladder and reaching as high as I could and cut off about 4 or 5 branches, but a couple were too high and left leaning on the roof.
I should have realized at that point that the branches weren't just hanging lower, that the whole trunk was starting to lean. Last night's storm was the final straw and it just leaned over with the top branches still hooked over my roof. I will call my brother and see if he will come over with his chain saw. It is 26 degrees and windy out, AND today is the Christmas party at my house around 2 p.m. Why couldn't this tree have gone down when it was near 60 degrees yesterday?

And I was hoping to write about something quilty today!
Added 10 a.m.: My brother came over and sawed the trunk at the mid point and removed the branches that were leaning against the house. It is bitterly cold with the wind chill so we'll deal with the chopping up of the pieces when it gets warmer.

11 comments:

Vicki W said...

Some days just aren't quilty days. I pulled a muscle in my back so my 2-week quilty vacation isn't. Hope to be back to some quilty activities in a couple of days though! I hope your brother can get the tree down for you.

Kay Koeper Sorensen said...

Spooky the similarities we share!
I have a large tree that had a huge branch that was hanging over the roof of the garage and house.
the yard guy told me I should have it trimmed before it went down on the roof. I did and I feel a real sense of relief knowing what might have happened. The tree trunk itself still leans and it is at least 2 feet in diameter but I think that is secure. Hope your brother can get this taken care of ASAP. K

jovaliquilts said...

Oh, too bad! I'm so glad it didn't damage the house, though. We took a walk this morning, cold but sunny, and saw all sorts of tree damage in the neighborhood, and it hasn't been the weather to deal with it.

Elsie Montgomery said...

Good thing that it didn't break a window! I've been drawn to tree quilts... is there a quilt idea in here some place? :-)

Karen said...

Hi Wanda,
Sorry to hear about your Redbud. It's always sad to me when a tree goes down. If you're not going to do anything with the seed pods on those fallen branches, I would love to take them off your hands. I have grown trees from seed and cuttings before and love doing it. Kind of a something new from something old thing.
Hope your party goes well;)
Happy New Year!

Fabric Fanatic said...

Wanda, thank God for a nearby brother! I'm glad that you had someone to call on, and glad that it didn't damage the roof or the window.
It is Murphy's Law that this couldn't have happened in milder weather, right?

Gene Black said...

I hope the party goes well ANYWAY. May your day that started with a Crash, end on a very happy note.

Vicky F said...

Hi Wanda,
I was wondering if you had any trouble with those wild winds that came with the cold front; now I know. We have random smaller branches down all over the yard (and the wind isn't done yet), but nothing like yours.

I meant to tell you your crazy quilt "rug" is delightful. Do I spy some classic Hoffman Christmas prints in it?
Also, do you recall using a special needle with metallic thread so it doesn't break as you're stitching?
Have a fun party today.
Vicky F

Unknown said...

Wow, it looks like that tree is right up against your window. I am glad you got it taken care of, now you will have some firewood once it dries. We are having that 60 degree weather today. It is odd, but welcome none the less.

hetty said...

Glad that branch didn't hit your window! We had strong winds(gusts to 100km/hr)today too. Lots of trees down and power outages all over the place. Hope your party went well. Looking forward to some quilty posts in future days!

meggie said...

So glad there was no damage caused. We had a massive hailstorm after a violent thunderstorm today! Some Summer! It was very hot in the morning though, so it was rather nice when it cooled down!