Snow Falling on Cedars, Oaks, Maples, Birch...

Snow falling on leaves is no laughing matter!

We have found out the hard way that there is a good reason why the trees drop their leaves before winter arrives.

It began snowing heavily around 4:00 PM last Saturday.

Less than a half hour later,  all you could hear was the sound of cracking tree limbs and the subsequent sounds as they crashed to the ground.

It was pretty easy to hear them because the house was very quiet.  We had already lost our electricity.

We slept downstairs that night just in case one of those tree limbs from the towering oak trees surrounding our house fell on our roof.  Luckily, this didn't happen.  But I didn't sleep very well that night as the trees kept groaning over the unbearable weight of the snow.

When we woke up the next morning, we were fortunate that our house, shed, and fence were unharmed.  But the poor trees hadn't fared so well.

The tops of these stately oaks were bending under a weight they may have never before carried in all of their years.

This oak in our front yard was bent like a candy cane.

The tops of many trees were broken from the weight of the snow clinging to the fall leaves.

Someone had been out early with a chainsaw to open a path for their car to get out to the main road.

Smaller birch trees bent gracefully to the ground.

 

As we stood outside surveying the damage, limbs continued to fall around us.

Six days later, the snow has melted.

But the devastation remains.  More than we could have imagined.

We still have no power.  No heat.  No internet.

We go to the mall to charge our phones. 

We go to the shelter at the high school to shower.

Here is just a small glimpse of our neighborhood.  And it is like this all over the state.

 Telephone poles broken in half.

 Electrical wires down over people's driveways.

 Storm shelters offer a warm place to sleep, eat, and shower.

 Cars drive under trees suspended over the road, resting on power lines.

Traffic lights are dark.

Most businesses are closed.
Gas stations can't pump gas without electricity, so there are long lines at the few stations that are open.
Cars need gas, but so do generators. 
Those restaurants that are lucky enough to have power have long waiting lines.

But just as it was in the wake of 9/11 and other disasters, people are talking more to each other.  Strangers are friendlier than usual, commiserating about the lack of power and showers.
People are helping each other survive.

While the lights are out, humanity has been shining!