Although the snow came down in a light dust yesterday, it persisted, accumulating as the hours of the day passed. Temperatures fluctuated above and below freezing, which caused the snow to melt and freeze again, becoming wet and heavy. This was too much for some trees and branches. As evening came I heard thuds on the roof from dumps of snow rolling off boughs in the trees, and occasionally I would hear a loud crack and a thud from a fallen tree or large branch. Around 9:30pm I heard a big one toward the front of the house and found a large branch blocking the front walkway.
I took a look out front and all looked peaceful. I did take the opportunity to shake snow loose from the plum trees and some other large shrubs to minimize potential damage.
The loud cracks and thuds went on throughout the night, making it hard to sleep, not knowing if one might land on the house. Also, the power went out around 10pm. It’s moments like these that I am grateful for my freestanding stove providing heat from the family room. Thankfully, power returned by 8:30 in the morning and I was curious to assess the damage outside.
I tried to move the large branch from the front walkway but I couldn’t make it budge. It might be easier when the snow melts since all that ice adds significant weight, or I might need to saw the wood into smaller pieces.
This tall multi-trunk smokebush leaned toward the house due to the weight of the snow (below), though this is one of the shrubs I had tried to knock the snow off of during the night. To be fair, it was already on a leaning path before, but snow brought it down much further.
In the side yard, a large pine branch came down near my bedroom window, and is leaning on the chain link fence.
In the backyard, a few large branches came down right on some of my shrubs and crashed through my compost bins. I couldn’t get these to budge and some are 20 feet long or more. I’ll assess it again after the snow melts.
Well, what an eventful night! Regardless of all the fuss, I feel incredibly fortunate for my house to stay unscathed and the power was only out while I slept, hardly an inconvenience. Many others had power out much longer. I definitely feel watched over by my angels and it’s these moments that remind me how truly blessed I am.
