Friday, July 12, 2013

It's A Jungle Out There


Oh my god. I've been sitting here for hours, writing a whiny, slightly insane post and never coming to an end with it, the rain still falling and all of a sudden, I heard a crack in the direction of the railroad tracks, which is to say behind the house and then, a tear, a split and a falling and the ground shook and one of the ancient oaks has released a giant part of itself and fallen across the yard.

I went outside and I was shaking. It was that loud, that profound.



The part which fell is essentially the equivalent to an entire tree, although it's hard to tell in the pictures. Let me just say that we will now be getting more sun and that until Mr. Moon gets in there with a chainsaw and the tractor and quite possibly a crew, the passage through my backyard over to the east is blocked.

Wow. I guess we can get too much rain. Trees' branches are so heavy with the resurrection fern and all of the water the wood can hold that they just can't support themselves. The Spanish Moss probably weighs hundreds of pounds as well, soaked through as it is.

I just don't even know what to say. I guess I'll shut up now and go to the store and hope that my house is still here when I return.




15 comments:

  1. Very glad that the branch didn't fall on your house! When we get rain here, the trees give up from the roots, not at individual branches: the whole tree keels over, leaving a gigantic root ball perpendicular to the ground and sometimes well over my head in height. Terrifying to imagine being under one of these monsters that has fallen!

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  2. Sweet Jesus! I know that sound, and it produces a certain kind of terror in the heart. Wow. Mr. Moon has his work cut out for him. (No pun intended, but it worked, no?)

    I'll e you later. Enjoy your day.
    xo

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  3. I have seen whole strong tree trunks blocking intersections here in LA, one falling on a house across the street, during strong winds. I have never heard the accompanying sound you describe and it must be frightening. It is amazing how nature has its way. I have an Agave in my front yard that has grown into the sky and it has gone thru its beautiful stages and is ready to come down. I am insistent that the gardener bring it down before another one of our little earthquake jolts causes this to happen and a person or car is in its path. It looks beautiful and forest-like in your backyard and the falling of the tree looks more dramatically kind of beautiful than when it happens in the city. I don't envy the work Mr Moon has to do to clear that up. Sweet Jo

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  4. Wow. That's intense. I don't even know what to say, either. I tend too much toward metaphor and symbolism, so I won't do that here.

    xoxox

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  5. It happens to us every time we get a big rain. Falling Giants. I always wonder, which one will it be this time? It is has a profound effect on me every time, and it's hard to plant the next generation when they are so likely to be cratered by the next one to fall. When I think about it, it's not a good way to live...

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  6. I've had a few Siberian elms around here fall so quietly I didn't know until I saw them. Just---bonk. Look out the window and what was vertical is horizontal. Eerie.

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  7. I have nothing more to say, but simply want to type the next wv that appeared: yingamew. (Guess I should not have taken that benadryl last night, it's so stupifying...)

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  8. So frightening! I'm just glad the tree fell away from your house. Stay safe.

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  9. Mama D- These oaks probably have roots in the aquifer. I mean, they are OLD. Hundreds of years old. But I've seen what you describe. It's so weird.

    Ms. Fleur- Mr. Moon looked at that tree and said something I am not sure I've ever heard him say before which is: "I can't do that."
    Which goes to show how big it is.

    Sweet Jo- Yeah. I agree. The smart thing is to take these trees before they fall. We have a few that are obviously needing to go. It's so damn expensive though and the ironic thing is that insurance won't pay for it until it does fall and takes out part of the house. STUPID!

    Elizabeth- I know, girl. It's just way too obvious to even go there.

    Food And Brew Love- Well, we sort of live in a rain forest, I guess. And yes, the Giants do tumble and they surely do take out whatever is in their path. Isn't that just like nature? That which brings you the most pleasure can kill your ass whether trees or oceans or rivers or mountains...

    A- That is weird. If a tree falls and no one hears it...
    It still falls, dammit. Yingamew sort of sounds like a tree, doesn't it? I take a Benadryl every night and I am not too proud to admit it.

    Angella- It was out of range of the house but god knows there's plenty that aren't. We were lucky this time.

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  10. OMG! That's one thing I love about Florida. The drama of the weather is so primal and in your face. No wishy washy, whiny, weather. You know who is the boss of you is there.
    And it is more than a little scary.

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  11. Wow that is a big tree. Glad everyone is safe including the house. Good luck with the removal and hopefully it does not eat up too much of your weekend. Have a good one, Ms. Moon.

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  12. y'all feel better now.

    our neighbor had a tree come down and put a hole in his garage roof. there was a shit ton of wood, but it was all rotty with carpenter ants so it got chipped, not corded to be burned.

    xxalainaxx

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  13. Ms. Yo - Hell yes. We know who the boss of us is. We may pretend otherwise but when push comes to shove, we know.

    Mr. Shife- This is far more than a weekend's work. Believe me. Some things you just have to let be. This is one.

    Mrs. A- That's life. Sometimes it's not life that we can personally use. Damn.

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  14. This reminds me of the huge water oak that came down. I really miss that tree. But something else will be planted there--a live oak.

    It is raining here today. Weather has been really weird this summer.

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  15. Yikes! That had to be terrifying. I hope it didn't take out any of your gardening or other vital parts of your landscaping. I hate to see trees come down, but I also hate to see people take them down before they need to be removed, so I don't know the best answer to the problems of tree management. (Which is why I live in an apartment!)

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