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Thursday 23 February 2017

Storm Doris Bowls Through

The garden boundary of our son's cottage has some very large trees growing alongside.    They are not his trees, they are on estate parkland.    There is one big  tree in particular which overhangs the summer house and is long overdue for some serious attention.

The old summerhouse is where the previous owner's wife, an artist, used to do her paintings.     These days it is the temporary resting place for  new kitchen cupboards.   Fitting them is the next big job to be tackled.

During a lull in the storm (Doris) we decided to take a quick drive along to check on the cottage and the cat.      The cottage was fine, warm and cosy,  but the cat was definitely lonely.   He misses our daughter-in-law, Poppy.   She is back in Shanghai at the moment.       I played with the cat while Max did a little 'pottering'.   He can never resist doing a few odd jobs around the place.

We were almost ready to leave when there was a very loud noise, the tree near the summerhouse had split in two, missing the summerhouse, but crashing into the road.     Fortunately not on top of a vehicle or pedestrian.



From this side it doesn't look too bad, but there was even more behind it.   We'd nipped outside to see whether we could drag it to one side but it was impossible.    Already there were two heavy hay lorries and lots of cars queuing on the far side.  

We made a  quick phone call to the police, who  said it could be a while before they got to the incident because the sudden strong gusts had also taken out quite a few others.   Fair enough.

We locked the house, got into our car and before we had driven out onto the road, another big tree had fallen across it.   This one was about a hundred and fifty yards further along, in the other direction.   We were trapped!




The landowner came along, checked everyone was alright and detailed his men to get things cleared asap.     He also agreed to do something about what is left of the tree overhanging the summerhouse, though not today.     His own house,  set in the parkland to the rear of the cottage, had also received a very near-miss.   A huge tree had just fallen against it,  the uppermost branches just scraping the house, but not causing any serious damage.

Effectively trapped, we went back into the cottage and had a cup of tea, of course!

Almost an hour after the incident the road was still closed but enough space had been created at the side of the first fallen tree for us to squeeze past.      We had to take quite a detour to reach home, but we made it.

Glad to say that Owl Wood is still standing, at the moment, and the hen-house gazebo (only in use because of the Defra restrictions) is still standing.  

This Doris is not nearly as cute and cuddly as her name would suggest.

I am so thankful that nothing worse happened.
Fingers crossed.
Stay safe everyone.
x


26 comments:

  1. Thank goodness it missed the summerhouse....

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    1. Hello Meggie, I know much worse things happen, but I kept thinking about those lovely kitchen cupboards and how upset Miles and Poppy would be if they got damaged. It was far too dangerous for us to go and rescue them, we left them be.

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  2. Oh, that looks awfujl, thank goodness you are safe.
    Margaret P

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    1. Hello Margaret, It seemed awfully dramatic at the time. So fortunate that no one was hurt, because during the daytime it is normally quite busy as it leads to the coast.

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  3. Some near misses here too thanks to Doris! I'm so glad the children's bus arrived safely at school after a detour around a fallen tree in our village . Thankfully no injuries!

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    1. Hello Christine, I am glad to hear that all is well with you and yours. What was worrying me most was the fact that we were marooned there and we always collect the children from their school bus and give them their tea.

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  4. Oh my lord!!! Thank goodness you're okay!!! It sounds like you are having quite a scare with this storm. I've been reading many of my overseas blogging friends are going thru it as well. Be safe!! xo

    ~ Wendy
    http://Crickleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hello Wendy, It has been a very dramatic day! We need a couple of quiet days now to collect all the fallen branches. At least we still have all the hens!

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  5. Glad you are ok and no damage to the property or your cars. Very gusty here. Tree limbs down through the villages I drive home from. So glad we cut down the walnut tree with the rot in the middle. The school bus stops right near our house, it could have been a nasty accident waiting to happen.

    We are apparently going to have high winds through the night, fingers crossed for all!

    Be safe!!!

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    1. Hello Sol, I love trees, but when the wild winds come you suddenly see them in quite a different light! Glad to hear that nothing too terrible happened near you. Fingers crossed for a quieter time.x

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  6. Thank Heavens that tree missed your car and you were both safe. It was quite scary on times wasn't it!

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    1. Hello Molly, At times the gusts seemed to shake the house - and we are a low building! At one point it was so loud that Toby jumped out of his basket and barked in fright, poor boy. It seems much less windy now, still wild but not violent.x

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  7. So glad nobody was hurt.
    Fallen trees here too, and the railway station lost part of its roof. Amazingly, it's perfectly still outside now and we are forecast frost and ice overnight!

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    1. Thanks, Scarlet. It is still and calm here this morning, not quite light yet, but definitely not ice and frost. I hope conditions are better than forecast for you. Even more exciting times/busy times ahead for you and your husband with the additional allotment to work. You will be needing an extra freezer at this rate!

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  8. That was lucky but from the look it was waiting to happen, the trees were covered in ivy which kills them then holds them in place till a strong wind comes and blows them over. You were very lucky the tree did not land on you, glad your Ok

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    1. Hello Bill, You are right, they were both covered in ivy. The Estate takes great care of their livestock, the parkland and the enormous trees within the park, but their forgotten spinneys are in a bit of a pickle and neglected. Perhaps the events of yesterday will have focused their attention a little, there could have been two serious incidents along that lane.

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  9. That was lucky but from the look it was waiting to happen, the trees were covered in ivy which kills them then holds them in place till a strong wind comes and blows them over. You were very lucky the tree did not land on you, glad your Ok

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    1. ps We will all heave a great sigh of relief when what remains of the big tree has been dealt with, it won't be easy though.

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  10. Oh deary me Elaine! Strorm Doris was not cuddly at all. Prunella was so glad you had your Guardian Angels watching over you both.
    The weather is pleasant today, enjoy and have a wonderful weekend :)

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    1. Hello Prunella, Bright sunshine and no wind - I'll settle for that! Our Guardian Angels were working hard yesterday, we appreciate what they did.
      Have fun this weekend.

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  11. Love the new header photo. I know....I've commented twice...laughing

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    1. Hello Meggie, It is always lovely hearing from you. Your new name is definitely Eagle-Eye. ;)

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  12. Heavens to Betsy, what a storm! Quite exciting though......thank goodness with no damage to people and places. You must be very glad the landlord was there and will trim the other tree!
    I presume you managed to pick up the grandkids in time

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    1. Hello Linda, It was wild for a time. We have spent this morning picking up fallen branches in Owl Wood - lots of kindling for the future. The trees in the garden fared rather better. The grandchildren ate their tea in silence, eyes as big as saucers as they listened to Grandpa spin the tale of how we were trapped in by two fallen trees. He may have embellished it a little!

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  13. So glad you weren't killed, or injured... If it had come down, on the cottage!!!!!!

    -sigh-

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    1. Hello Luna, I know, it doesn't bear thinking about. I shall feel happier once the landowner's men have removed the rest of the tree, it is enormous so it will be quite an undertaking and will probably cause quite a bit of mess in my son's garden. Still, better safe than sorry!

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.