Nor`easter Damage

We got through Sandy with inconsequential damage but yesterday's nor`easter brought 8-12 inches of unexpected (at least by me) heavy wet snow. Last night, around 10, I heard a crack and a rumble outside. In the dark all I could see was that a large branch of the pine tree by the path had shaken all the snow off itself--I thought I was hearing a mini-avalanche as the snow fell from tree to ground. In the morning I saw it was much more than that. Half the tree came down from the weight of the snow.

 One of the problems is that while this tree is near our house, it probably isn't our tree, being just outside our property line (we think). So we're not sure what we can do--whether we can call a tree service or whether it belongs to the homeowner's association or even to the original developer. I hate to have the tree taken down though we've known from the start that it was infested with southern pine beetles. It's got a lot of character and the birds love it. It is amazing it wasn't already dead since those bugs work fast.

Another problem is that the branches fell across the path into the WMA, a path that is used by all the dog owners in the neighborhood. The picture to the left shows that the limbs are  hanging onto the tree by splinters. It won't take much shaking to bring down a few hundred pounds of wood. So you'd think people would detour around it instead of brushing aside the branches to stay on the path. You'd think wrong.

I had to put up this makeshift sign after I saw a women blunder into the tangle with her German shepherd. I know this falls into the "duh" category, but I really don't feel like dealing with someone's fractured skull outside my kitchen door.

I understand trees have to fall, have to die to make way for the succession of other trees in the great circle of life, but I don't expect to be around when this little guy that has been under the canopy of the big pine reaches to 30 feet like its neighbor.

Another pitch pine in the backyard, much smaller and thinner than the other, snapped in half from the weight of the snow. This one I have no emotional connection to. And I think it's mine. The property lines are kind of vague around here.

To end on a happier note: Here's a bird photo. Kind of. Shari's new wind sock arrived this morning, fortunately after all the storms have passed through.