Nice Pictures

I don't know; maybe it's because it's too awful to contemplate the level of destruction and mayhem that has been visited upon our garden but it seems really hard to get "good" pictures. In this shot, you can see the magnolia was spared (thanks for something!) but that's my garden under all those reclining monster tree carcasses! And while I'm eternally grateful that bob and I and Robin and Maggie are okay, our yard and property are definitely not okay!
And as anyone who knows me knows, my garden is very important to me!!

Large sections of our yard look like this. Like Bob said, it's hard to know even where to begin cleaning up. Our friend Joe came over today and helped chain saw away a tree that crashed through the fence next to our neighbor's house and remove another large oak that fell near Bob's studio so that we can drive debris down and make a giant pile (or ten) in the woods behind Bob's studio.

So we have some damage to the house in the back. The storm didn't entirely crush our house- like some unfortunate neighbors!- but we can't get the tree down even with the skilled assistance of talented friends. The insurance people have been notified. We'll see what happens there. I know (and have been warned) that insurance "adjusters" will try and save the company money and try and get out of paying for damages as much as possible. But we're tenacious and I am making a list of all my plants and shrubs that were smashed. I have quite a lot of valuable plant material that is not salvageable!
How about one more?

This is a perfectly healthy spruce that was uprooted and toppled in Maggie's pasture. Poor Maggie was totally freaked out and has spent the last three days sort of hanging out in her barn. We removed a couple of smaller trees that fell in her auxiliary grazing area so that she could get out and graze as she's blocked by the above monster from the lower field. What a mess!