Crash!
The wind howled: the house shook, a window shattered, hail pounded the windows as tree branches splintered and flew just inches outside our bedroom's sliding glass door. It was 1:30 a.m. February 1, 2016. Jolted back to our earthly reality we leapt out of bed.
"Oh my God, the giant tree in the back yard has fallen,” Lori shrieked.
When nature comes knocking instantly hundreds of wild uncontrollable thoughts flash through your mind. Do we need to evacuate? What happened? Was there electrical damage? Which tree is it? Are the cats ok? Did it destroy our new deck? Is the roof intact? What about the neighbor’s trees . . .
In the pitch darkness little did we know that both 40-50 foot Pine trees in our yard had been completely uprooted by the violent storm from the Winter El Nino in Southern California.
We flipped on the light and made our way down the stairs. The cats were nowhere to be found. Glass covered the living room carpet and a cold wind was blowing through the broken window.
“Vacuum the glass, I’ll get the ladder and find something to patch the window.” I said to Lori.
“Ok, I’m scared - what if the other trees come down and crush the house?”
“Don’t know. Let’s go outside to see what’s happened.”
Talk about a charmed life. From our porch, in the darkness, we could see that our entire back yard was littered with trees. Our deck and dividing fence between homes were covered. The largest of the two had fallen between our house and the neighbors to the east.
“Wow! This stuff is really thick.” I stumbled my way through the branches in the pouring rain examining the deck support poles. Out of desperation I grabbed a saw and started cutting my way through the branches closest to the back door.
“Maybe I can relieve some of the stress on the house to prevent more damage.”
“The deck is OK!” I shouted with exasperation. Once I realized the deck was intact I ran back upstairs and cut away the branches pressed against the deck to relieve any pressure.
Next I struggled to make my way to the corner of the house cutting through the dense fallen limbs. The wind and rain pelting me all the while. A limb caught my hand and I dropped the saw. The thick branches enveloped it instantly. Groping in total darkness the saw was gone.
Lori had finished cleaning up the glass. “I’m going back to bed,” she yelled out to me. The storm now at it’s peak.
“Ok, now I need to find something to cover the window.”
After digging around in the garage I found a very large box, measured the window, and cut out a section that was wedged in to keep out the cold and rain.
“Well, that’s all we can do tonight. Might as well go back to bed.” By then it was 3:30 am.
Sleep, not a chance. When nature comes knocking with the ferocity of such a powerful storm you begin to realize the warmth and safety of your bed is uncertain at best.
With the wind still howling, and hail pounding our sliding glass door, we huddled in bed.
“Have you seen the cats?” I whispered.
“No, they're probably hiding under the bed.”
“What do you think we will find in the morning?”
“Try to go back to sleep, we will see.”
To be continued . . .
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