Blown away
It certainly was windy on Tuesday. We had winds clocked at 50 and 60 mph, gale force winds. They did a lot of damage. The saddest thing for me was to see a photo in the online local newspaper of traffic going around a large tree in the middle of a main road downtown.
That was one of my favorite trees. I used to walk by it all the time when I lived in East End and walked downtown to work. First I had thought it was a chestnut tree, and picked up some of the fallen "nuts" to bring to work. But a co-worker from the Buckeye State told me that it was a buckeye tree and that buckeyes are lucky to carry in your pocket, but poisonous to eat. Both chestnuts and buckeyes must be very rare around here, because I've never seen another tree like it.
I tried planting some of its seeds and even once got a sprout but the little plant died off and I never got a baby tree from it. My son was six years old when I "met" that tree and now he's twenty-six. So I had known and loved that tree for a long time, and am grieving about it now. Oh, and in the paper it's identified as a "horse chestnut" tree. Is that the same as a Buckeye?
Anyway, I also found out a major disadvantage of raised bed gardens--they were all pretty well blown flat in the strong wind! My neighbors, who have a large, regular garden had no problem. Of course their garden was not only ground-level but also sheltered from the wind by a raspberry hedge on one side and their large garage on the other side. My poor little garden was just out there defenceless in the wind. I did water it (hard to do with the wind) to help anchor soil and plants and keep them from being blown away. The plants took quite a beating, especially the staked-up tomatoes, but I think everything is still alive, sort of.
And of course more important things than gardens and trees were messed up. Large trees fell on people's houses, sheds and garages. Some of my co-workers still have their electrical power out a couple of days later, and they're worried about the food in their freezers. Also about taking showers and washing their hair. Last night we had a thunderstorm and torrential rain, which did not help the tree and building cleanup and power restoration.
That was one of my favorite trees. I used to walk by it all the time when I lived in East End and walked downtown to work. First I had thought it was a chestnut tree, and picked up some of the fallen "nuts" to bring to work. But a co-worker from the Buckeye State told me that it was a buckeye tree and that buckeyes are lucky to carry in your pocket, but poisonous to eat. Both chestnuts and buckeyes must be very rare around here, because I've never seen another tree like it.
I tried planting some of its seeds and even once got a sprout but the little plant died off and I never got a baby tree from it. My son was six years old when I "met" that tree and now he's twenty-six. So I had known and loved that tree for a long time, and am grieving about it now. Oh, and in the paper it's identified as a "horse chestnut" tree. Is that the same as a Buckeye?
Anyway, I also found out a major disadvantage of raised bed gardens--they were all pretty well blown flat in the strong wind! My neighbors, who have a large, regular garden had no problem. Of course their garden was not only ground-level but also sheltered from the wind by a raspberry hedge on one side and their large garage on the other side. My poor little garden was just out there defenceless in the wind. I did water it (hard to do with the wind) to help anchor soil and plants and keep them from being blown away. The plants took quite a beating, especially the staked-up tomatoes, but I think everything is still alive, sort of.
And of course more important things than gardens and trees were messed up. Large trees fell on people's houses, sheds and garages. Some of my co-workers still have their electrical power out a couple of days later, and they're worried about the food in their freezers. Also about taking showers and washing their hair. Last night we had a thunderstorm and torrential rain, which did not help the tree and building cleanup and power restoration.
9 Comments:
Sounds like very destructive weather. I hope your garden survives.
We have wind like that all the time, I guess our plant life around here have adjusted for it or something. We do get broken branches and stuff from trees but not the destruction you are talking about. I'm sorry about the tree.
Wow...seems like there's been weird weather everywhere lately!
I know what you mean about that tree.
Up the street there was one that had been there since i was a baby and a couple of years ago a lightning stuck cut it in half.
I know for myself as I saw in the eys oif some of the others that have lived here for the last 30-40 years watched a friend die.
The weather is getting insane.
We were 46 thge other dau about 118 your temps I think and in a flash it was raining and then freezing.
Ok who has the weather machine?
I call a buckeye a conker tree! We've got loads of them over here and they're usually pretty sturdy. That must ahve been some wind you had there!
Maybe we're getting the tail end of your storm here tonight. It's not much at all compared to what you got.
I like trees, too. The older I get, the more I like them. Dad's the same way. We have chestnut trees here. Horse chestnuts. They're no good to eat. Mum says they're poisonous. I once saw a chestnut tree in a relative's back yard in Michigan, and asked what kind it was.
"That? Why that's a Buckeye tree, son."
I guess Buckeyes and Chestnuts are the same.
I have a pal who has a raised garden and hers took quite a beating during tornado season one year.
I hope yours fares better....
our typhoon is still on its way. i think our garden and our house will look exactly the same way!
I know exactly how you feel about your poor tree. It should be there every day in order to please you.
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