Things Happen...

Change is a continuum everywhere and at all times. Change begets change, and so is in perpetual motion.

It's been said that you never step twice into the same river. The flow of water ensures that. It's constantly changing, just as you are. For, like the flowing river, you too are not the same person. Your body is not the same; neither are your thoughts. Physically, you are undergoing constant change. The thoughts that run through your mind, your observations, perceptions, attitude, everything is as fluid as the water's flow. The river is not the same and neither are you.    ~Based on Heraclitus' Theory

April 7. 2011 - Heavy wet snow...more than the trees could stand up under.  The first loud crack was heard about 9:30 that evening and just like that one large tree snapped in half and took her two sisters down with her. The tops of the branches crashed onto the roof and slowly over the next 5 or 6 hours the trees slid down the back of our house.  Around 3:00 am we heard a very loud crack.  Mark was up to deliver a baby.  That was the sound of three more falling into the the road on the south of our property.  It's an uneasy feeling seeing and hearing your world crash down around you.  I can't imagine experiencing a devastating earthquake, tsunami or fire.

 We fell in love with the wooded landscape...and so many trees!  They have been beautiful back drops for many different occasions in our yard and a wonderful source of shade and serenity. They have held lights that twinkled throughout the year, a hammock to lounge in, many a birdie, lost hula hoop or frisbee.  Cats have climbed them and birds have nested in them.

 What will this change bring to pass? A little more sun and a chance to grow new plants.  Choosing a new tree to replace the old.  Patience and wonder at nature.  But right now its a little hard to look outside.

 This photo was taken right after the trees fell.

And what we saw when we woke up Friday morning.

You can see where the first tree snapped and when the other two went down they were uprooted.  There is nothing glorious about a box elder tree.  They are messy and house the yucky box elder bug.  They aren't very strong and have very shallow root systems for their huge height.  Nonetheless...they will be missed.

 These fell and blocked the road going up the south end of our property.  Brian and Brad were so very nice to help us cut them all down.  They are great guys with awesome tools and hearts of gold.  Brain has such a sense of adventure! It took some discussion to decide how to best take the trees down so the trunks wouldn't crash through the windows.

The two broken trunks you see above are two we purposely took down.  They looked unsafe and when Brian just started cutting through the bark they snapped!  So scary!  There was sooo much tension on them.  Very glad they hadn't fallen on anyone!

So thankful no one was hurt and there wasn't serious damage. 

And tomorrow is a new day.

A vulture spooked by the sound of the chain saws.  Maybe he was thinking he would be getting breakfast with all the excitement going on.  I spotted him in our giant tree in the front yard and made a dash to the house for my camera.  I had been outside with the photographer from the Herald Joural (Jenn) and she snapped this. He was gone by the time I came back out. Thanks for sharing, Jenn!  We love photos of animals who visit Deer Hollow.

The red floor has two coats of polyurethane down and we are hoping to get the baseboards up tomorrow then the final two coats of poly.  We should be ready to start moving things into the room in about a week!! We LOVE the floor!