Friday, December 13, 2013

Breaking Point and Posts of the Week

We had some interesting weather back in November.

I'm not at all sure that this was officially a microburst or if that's just another word for an intense unexpected wind. But a sudden, mighty wind it was, and it did a bit of damage in its path.


We were sitting in the house when the general quiet of the day was interrupted by a flurry of swirling leaves and bowing branches. We both looked up and gazed out onto the lake which had looked clear and smooth moments earlier.

microburst lake
At this moment - not so much.

We could feel the pressure of the gusts make the house shudder. Later, Frank said that he had heard a crack which he figured was a fallen branch but that sound eluded me.

The whole incident lasted under a minute. Probably fewer than twenty seconds.

microburst goodbye tree
Peeking through the window, we were able to see some brush close to the base of one of the trees bordering our property. This confirmed what Frank thought he'd heard.





mircroburst mostly gone
Up close though, we realized that it wasn't just a branch. It was the whole top portion of the tree.





mircroburst tree down
It lay across the width of our neighbour's driveway. They had left the weekend before to spend the rest of the winter in the city so thankfully, there were no people or vehicles in its path.





mircroburst across the driveway
Standing back a bit, you can see the length of the broken part, the trunk from which it came and the entrance to our kitchen on the right.





microburst casualties
Luckily, there wasn't any significant damage to any other property - ours or the neighbours'.






microburst breaking point
I guess that no matter how mighty you believe yourself to be, everything has its breaking point.



❀  ❀  ❀  ❀  ❀


And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if your blog post is named as a POTW.










***

A GOOD READ

The Meaning of LIFE According to Me
by E. Angelina
at My Magnificent Life

City of Dreams
by Marianne
at Under Wide Suffolk Skies

Nuked
by Brian
at WaystationOne

Can They Really Compare
by MessyMimi
at MessyMimi's Meanderings

Pointy the Poinsettia
by Jim
at Suldog


***

PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Making Waves
by Andy
at Eye Candy

Fogged In
by Laura
at Laura Delegal - Chasing the Light

Shadow on a Wall
by Linda
at The View from Squirrel Ridge

Lemon Drizzle
by Fiona
at Lady Fi

Strong Pull of Quietude
by Laura
at Shine the Divine

It's 5am in O-Town
by Lisa
at Lisa Gorden Photography



***

JUST PLAIN ENJOYABLE

Do You Know Who Creeps About in the Dark?
by Jennifer
at Cottage Country Reflections

Elk Watching
by Linda
at To Behold the Beauty


***

CREATIVE FUN

Varicoloured Christmas ChemisTREE
by Nick
at Along These Lines


***

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you


56 comments:

Glo said...

How fortunate there was no damage to people or property, but what a huge break that was! It will be a shock for the owners of the property. Neat to catch the wind gusting across the lake. Great posts of the week :)

sharon said...

oh snap!!!

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

I think we had the same or a similar storm go through here. Very short in duration but very mighty in strength. So sorry about the tree. It takes so long to grow them and they're gone in an instant.

Thanks kindly for the shout-out, my friend. You're the best.

Andy said...

In my experience I have seen more trees this year taken down by the wind. In each case the damage has been only to the tree. PS: Thank you Hilary for including my blog on your post of the week.

Brian Miller said...

ah true that....had plenty of trees to clean up after the derecho last year....

congrats to the potw...and thank you hilary...smiles.

Haddock said...

I was wondering how it is still standing erect after it broke.
Agree on that - everything has its breaking point.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

whoa, looked like a healthy tree, too!

Out on the prairie said...

That wind shear can be harsh

Anonymous said...

Good to know there was no damage ... except to the poor old tree. Hmmm ... lots of greenery branches for the taking for creating winter decorations.

DJan said...

Wow! That is a huge portion of the tree gone. I am glad nobody was hurt and nothing was damaged, other than the tree, of course. Thanks for the POTWs, off to visit some. :-)

stephen Hayes said...

Glad no cars were parked beneath this tree when it gave way.

Suldog said...

Thank you, my friend! It is always a thrill to be numbered among your elite!

TexWisGirl said...

sorry about the tree snap, but so glad no houses, vehicles or other were damaged with it!

another great group of POTW picks!

Leah J. Utas said...

Nature always wins. I wouldn't turn my back on her.

Laura said...

oh my goodness Hilary… two years ago we had an enormous branch fall from a tree in our backyard, barely missed the house… when it hit the ground you could feel it and the snow rose up creating white out for several minutes!

Thank you for the POTW honor… you are a dear!

Gail Dixon said...

I'm sorry the tree snapped, but so glad no one was injured...or property. Firewood perhaps?

Yay! I see some of my buddies in the POTW selections. Will have to go do some visiting and congratulating now. :)

Gail Dixon said...

I'd like to nominate this post from Diary of an Indian Girl in Singapore: http://palulife.blogspot.com/2013/12/blogmas-day-13-my-guardian-angel.html

Indrani said...

Glad that there was not much damage.
Fine pictures Hilary, just like news coverage.

Anvilcloud said...

I hope the neighbours return prepared.

Birdie said...

Yes, we all are in danger of snapping. ;-)

L. D. said...

It really does look like a microburst with the downward forces breaking off things.

Tabor said...

When we think we are all warm and cozy...suddenly we realize that mother nature has total control.

Catherine said...

It's good to be reminded from time to time that we are not actually in control - nature can always ace us! Thank you for the POTW - an honour indeed!

Red said...

I'm sure there's a complicated scientific explanation for this wind. Spruce tend to lose tops in high winds. Other trees blow over from the roots. Trees falling are one of the hazards of living in beautiful areas.

Jenn Jilks said...

Thank you for your comforting words!
It's such a bad month, November, for winds. Then there is the Lake Effect Snow! We lost quite a few branches last year. And tops of trees, like yours. It's a thick forest, though.
This is good.
I do love my walkies.
cheers!
Thanks for the Shout Out!

messymimi said...

It's one of the dangers of living with trees so close around -- my brother lost a house when seven trees fell on it during Hurricane Katrina. We were just glad he wasn't home at the time.

Along These Lines ... said...

Thanks for mentioning the post, Hilary!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Wind is such a powerful force as is evidenced by that broken tree.

Lisa Gordon said...

Thank you so very much, Hilary.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Anita said...

It reminds me of when a tree fell on my large SUV about 5 seconds before my daughter and I would have been getting into it. It was quite a sight to witness and the sound was eerie. It was also a probably a microburst that caused the tree to uproot and fall.

So glad no one was hurt and that the property survived it, too. Who removed the fallen tree?

SandyCarlson said...

It's good to be here. I am sorry that wind took such a damaging toll. It grieves me to see trees snapped like that.

Thank you for this beautiful post.

Rosaria Williams said...

Goodness, those trees could have caused so much more damage. The cost of living in a natural setting.

Linda said...

Glad it didn't fall onto a house!

Thanks for linking to my photo!

Anonymous said...

Poor tree - glad it didn't hit the house!

And thanks for the POTW!

Betty Manousos said...

sorry about the tree snap, but glad there was not much damage.

yet another great set of potw picks! congrats to the winners.

big hugs!

Valerie said...

Thank goodness there were no human casualties. I have many tall trees around my UK home which are beginning to worry me. The winds are far too strong lately.

Pallavi said...

Hi Hilary, thank you so much for the kind words on my blog :) So glad to know that your neighbors had left before the top half of the tree fell down. As they say everything happens for the best so thank God they were out of harm's way. Have a lovely day ahead.

Daryl said...

bravo/brava to all .. but especially to my pals Suldog and Lisa Gordon ...

Hilary .. your new home is filled with magnificent photo ops ..

Daryl said...

bravo/brava to all .. but especially to my pals Suldog and Lisa Gordon ...

Hilary .. your new home is filled with magnificent photo ops ..

Rita said...

Wow! That looks like more than half the tree. Reminds us of just how powerful the wind can be. Glad the neighbors were already gone. Great shot of the turbulent lake! :)

Barb said...

Hi Hilary, We've had those winds here in Breckenridge, too. We left early one morning to ski through the forest, and I was worried we'd befit by a falling tree - several were already blown down, some directly on one of our trails. Enjoy your new home - I hope you're snug and warm.

Bob Bushell said...

I'm amazed no one was hurt, especially you and your husband and your Benny.

Mage said...

Goodness. That would have really frightened me. Glad only the tree was damaged.

Barbara said...

Holy cow! I'm so glad no one was hurt!!

Laura. M said...

The nature when angry, has incredible strength, Hilary. The same thing happened here recently.
I get your link :))
good Sunday
A kiss from Béjar. Salamanca

For you see:
http://asimegustaelmundo.blogspot.com.es/2013/11/la-garganta-del-oso.html

Veronica Roth said...

Holy smokes Hillary! That's a big chunk of that tree. I sometimes worry about that at our cabin because the Doug firs are so shallow rooted, but so far so good. (fingers crossed) I'm in E just now and we had the biggest wind last night as well. I'm going to walk out into the fields later to see what the hedgerows look like. Some of the old willows at the Thames have pretty brittle branches. (I'll take photos) :)

Maggie May said...

That was a bit close for comfort! Glad the tree didn't fall through the roof or on any living thing.
Makes a good photo though!
Maggie x

Nuts in May

Lisa said...

You did have some very harmful weather. Its always hard to see trees broken . Happy there didnt hurt anyone or property.

ashok said...

always its a sad sight to see a tree cut or snapped...atleast no one is hurt

Sharon Wagner said...

The loss of trees can make such a dramatic change in our world. My studio is a lot brighter after the loss of a huge elm next door. But I still miss it.

Crabby McSlacker said...

Yowza!

So I think Sharon said it best with: "Oh Snap!" Cracked me up.

Unknown said...

Oh my. That tree does not look good at all.

Unknown said...

Hilary: Back in Ohio, where I'll be for Christmas Week, we have tall trees like this. Glad no one was hurt and there was no damage! Happy Holidays, and I'll be back to visit the POTW's. ;)

weekend et coup de brosse said...

Très joli post, j'aime beaucoup ton blog, à bientôt- Cath.
PS: Actuellement on ne peut pas s'inscrire comme follower, n'hésite pas à venir sur mon blog.

weekend et coup de brosse said...

Très joli post, j'aime beaucoup ton blog, à bientôt- Cath.
PS: Actuellement on ne peut pas s'inscrire comme follower, n'hésite pas à venir sur mon blog.

lime said...

yikes! glad to know no one or their property was damaged in the process.