I moved into the house I’m living in now when I was 10. It was my parent’s house then, and it’s mine now, but regardless of whose house it was, a huge tree in my neighbor’s yard has provided shade on my home and yard for all that time. Until Saturday.
I was standing on the porch watching the wind blow. A sudden storm was coming in from the West, and the wind had picked up to the velocities that the National Weather Service had warned us about. We told Abby to stay inside for fear of her blowing away, and I stood on the porch and listened.
The wind roared from the West end of the street while remaining calm where I stood. As it got louder I could see the effects of the wind roll toward me in the leaves of the trees beyond the neighboring homes. They were being pulled to the right by the wind, not by the ordinary gusts we get around here but something much stronger than usual.
Finally it came, whipping at my jacket and blowing debris through my yard. Broken twigs and paper bags flew by. I heard an odd popping sound from my right, and turned to look. I watched the huge branch fall slowly, like something I might have stopped if I had the speed and strength. It fell on Mrs. Johnson’s porch and broke the support beam.
No windows were broken, just structural bamage to the porch. It will probably take a lot to fix it properly, but it could have been worse.
Mrs. Johnson returned to her house later to find it buried in tree. On Sunday, the tree service people removed it completely, leaving just the stump. The poor old tree had been there so long - Its diameter wider than Abby is tall.
And so now my whole neighborhood looks different. 20 years of living here with that tree and now it’s suddenly gone. It’s like I’m not home when I come home.
