On the road…again!
Afghanistan to Zambia
Chronicles of a Footloose Forester
By Dick Pellek

 

Hurricane Sandy

 

Many tragedies of Hurricane Sandy during the latter days of October 2012 have already been told, one at a time.  Most stories, however, may never be told.  Those that have been most affected may feel so devastated that they are in a state of shock so complete that they don’t know what to do next; and that the last thing they think about is making their stories public.  Those of us blessed with an escape from major damage are a bit more likely to speak about our experiences, however insignificant.

Most of the people that communicate with the Footloose Forester have expressed a sense of relief that they did not suffer any great losses; although the sense of tension and apprehension is still present in the air; as told in their own words.  In our house, the reaction is that God loves us enough to spare us from even the slightest setback.   We live less than a mile from Chesapeake Bay and expected that high tides and widespread flooding would be the greatest threat. Since our house is close enough to dozens of tall trees that falling trees or branches were probable, we included that prospect as we waited out the storm.  In the photo below, the cherry tree that stood within four feet of our house now lies quietly in repose.

 

Cherry tree shortly after it went down

The ten inches of rain and the high tides did flood some roads in our area; high water tables did weaken and eventually uproot dozens of trees in our community, and strong winds did snap off the tops of other trees, but we escaped all but minor damage. 

Most of the surrounding community didn’t even lose power.  Our sector closest to Chincoteague Bay did lose power, however, when a large loblolly pine snapped off and fell across the road to take out a branch of the power line.  Power was restored within two days.  The utility company crews stayed on the job until it was finished.

The silver lining in the recent storm clouds of Hurricane Sandy is the array of stout cherry logs now forming the border of Thu’s flower and vegetable gardens. The medium-sized black cherry tree that stood within four feet of our back porch went down in the storm, but it settled gently to the ground as it was lifted out of the saturated ground by its roots. It fell outward--in the other direction and did no damage to the house.  The three straight boles of the previously branched cherry tree are now measured and cut log borders for Thu’s gardens.  We are confident that they will still be there for many years to come.  

 

New cherry log borders for Thu's gardens