The pups and I went to bed kinda early last night. Everyone was spooked by the wicked winds we were having. A bit after 11:00 in a pre-sleep haze, I heard a tree fall down. I looked at the clock and knew the power was still on, so that was a good thing. Throwing on some clothes, I went down stairs to investigate.
The minute I got at the foot of the stairs I looked out the foyer window and realized I couldn't see the school across the street. That meant only one thing . . . my huge V-shaped hemlock tree had fallen. Then it dawned on me that it had fallen away from the house and not on my bedroom a mere ten feet away!
Upon closer inspection, I could tell it was hanging on the power lines and was out in the road. A quick call to the police department had a cruiser in front of the house in minutes. Then came the fire truck and rescue squad. For the next three hours, the City of Newton crews (3 trucks) are up in their buckets, swinging in that wind, taking care of business!
Of course I am roving from window to window to window watching everything. My intersection is blocked with vehicles, red truck lights are going round and round, and I can hear men's voices shouting instructions to each other. Way up high in a bucket, a man starts taking out limbs with a chain saw and foot by foot the tree comes down and off the lines.
Waking up every neighbor around me, the chipper/shredder goes to work cleaning up the debris. Finally the men up in the buckets restore the power lines and at 2:30 a.m., they all drive off with a job-well-done. Peace and quiet and safety has returned.
Now it's time for the photos . . .
Stay tuned for the follow-up story.