Hurricane Ivan comes to Town

And Leaves a Lasting Mark on our Yard

After barely getting out of Venezuela before Hurricane Ivan blocked all flights out this summer, we thought we had escaped. But Ivan apparently wasn't giving up so easily! Not long after we returned, Ivan made his way up through the Gulf of Mexico and barreled up into Alabama. The "Redneck Riviera" region of the Gulf coast was pretty much destroyed in places. And, by the time the hurricane reached Huntsville, the winds were still pegging out at over 60 mph.

We were amused when the entire state canceled classes for the day, particularly given Huntsville's penchant for going hysterical over the slightest chance of snow or tornado, but it turned out the weather guys actually got this one right. As the afternoon wore on, the winds picked up. The worst of it wasn't supposed to hit until around 10pm, but it moved in faster than expected and we ended up losing the tree in the front yard at about 3pm. Fortunately, the half that came down was the half facing the street, instead of the half hanging toward the house! Dave came home from work, and with the help of the boys and our neighbors across the street we got the worst of it cleared out of the road before the height of the storm.

The next day, the remaining half of the tree had to be dealt with, since it was hanging ominously toward the house and the trunk was obviously rotted to the point where it wasn't going to stand long. There was only one thing to do,...Dave had to get a chain saw. Don't you just hate situations like that! :-) With the decision (and the purchase) made, Dave and the boys set about figuring out how exactly to cut the thing down without damaging the house or themselves. As the neighbors wandered by they offered lots of advise, and some of it turned out to be quite fortunate, since our original idea would surely have proved more exciting than we intended. So, armed with power tools and good advice, we tackled the task and when all was said and done, we came away victorious! The city came by a few days later and hauled away the remains, and all that's left (for now) is the stump. The Tree Masters