UH-OH!!

[sm4him]

Sooo glad that your car was not damaged by the tree! I often feel sorry for the folks who live in storm-prone areas. It's just such an odd thing to lose property and lives due to...weather... So sad.

I agree, and thanks! It didn't even hit the garden, so the ONLY thing damaged was a fence--I'm so thankful it didn't hit my car, or ME, or one of the neighbor's cars, or their house (it would have to have cracked and then blown off in tornadic winds to have hit my house).

I actually have a close friend who wasn't so lucky, just this past weekend. She and her family (husband and three boys) went on vacation somewhere along the SC coast. Just after reaching their destination city, a storm hit--and a tree fell on their car. WHILE they were in it. The boys were completely unharmed, but my friend and her husband had some cuts from both the tree and shattered glass. Still, they are relatively okay--able to walk around, and able to still go on with their vacation. But now they also have to interrupt vacation to deal with insurance issues so they can get back HOME from vacation. The car is totaled. It's really incredible that they walked away reasonably unscathed.

 

[sm4him]

Glad that you and your neighbours and your property are all OK, but can't help thinking there are photo opportunities in this. Just be wary of unstable trees, branches,etc.

You're right, there are definitely photo ops out there. Unfortunately, this morning it was really foggy out, so the few photos I had time to take didn't turn out well at all. And since I'm also trying to get ready for vacation, I won't have much time to sit out there and wait for the photos under better conditions.
The one remaining branch that's in my yard is *definitely* unstable and big enough to do significant injury if it fell on me!

 

[sm4him]

Well, as I said in the post above, it was really foggy this morning, so I didn't get any really good photos. Took pictures of the felled tree with my cell phone, then I did go get my D7000 and took a few shots of some of the birds flitting about near their fallen homes.
Nothing very good, but I'll share anyway, just for the "story" value.

1. See that ivy "hedge", or wall, back there? Yeah, that's no wall, that's the tree. And underneath that tangle of wood and ivy is what USED to be my neighbor's fence:



2. Here's a view from the neighbor's yard:



3. There were countless wrens this morning, hopping about, trying to tend to their nests among the rubble. Here's one that seems pretty irritated by the whole situation:


4. I'm pretty sure there were probably at least two robin's nests involved in the tree crash, because there were two robins this morning who clearly seemed to be fighting over who was in whose territory.
(NOTE: Some of these, like this one are REALLY noisy, partly because of the fog, partly because I cropped them, and partly because I didn't bother to do much post on them, since they really aren't worth it)


5. There is also at least one cardinal nest involved. This one made me suspect that, because the cardinal was hopping all over the tree with food in its mouth:


6. This one is my favorite because it pretty much confirms there was a cardinal nest, AND it gives me hope for the other nests, because this baby cardinal is already fledged (able to fly). I feel certain that most of the birds would have made it out safely, IF they could fly. The ones I'm worried about are ones that might not have fledged yet. So far, I've seen no casualties, but it is pretty much impossible to tell anything at this point.

 

[esselle]

Wow! Gives me perspective seeing these pics. And the birds just go on with life. :mrgreen: thank for sharing this!

 

[snowbear]

Glad that you & neighbors are OK - fences can be replaced. Hopefully the toll on the wrens isn't too bad.

 

[DarkShadow]

Glad that you and your neighbours and your property are all OK, but can't help thinking there are photo opportunities in this. Just be wary of unstable trees, branches,etc.

You're right, there are definitely photo ops out there. Unfortunately, this morning it was really foggy out, so the few photos I had time to take didn't turn out well at all. And since I'm also trying to get ready for vacation, I won't have much time to sit out there and wait for the photos under better conditions.
The one remaining branch that's in my yard is *definitely* unstable and big enough to do significant injury if it fell on me!

They should make fog lights that mount on the hot shoe.

 

[runnah]

They should make fog lights that mount on the hot shoe.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0045DEIQU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1371004867&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

I have a similar one for my video camera.

 

[DarkShadow]

Holy crap they do.

 

[sm4him]

Glad that you and your neighbours and your property are all OK, but can't help thinking there are photo opportunities in this. Just be wary of unstable trees, branches,etc.

You're right, there are definitely photo ops out there. Unfortunately, this morning it was really foggy out, so the few photos I had time to take didn't turn out well at all. And since I'm also trying to get ready for vacation, I won't have much time to sit out there and wait for the photos under better conditions.
The one remaining branch that's in my yard is *definitely* unstable and big enough to do significant injury if it fell on me!

They should make fog lights that mount on the hot shoe.

They should make fog lights that mount on the hot shoe.

LightLINK Rechargeable Ultra-Bright LED Camera / Video Light with Hot Shoe and Tripod Adapter for Canon , Sony , Nikon and Other DSLR Cameras:Amazon:Camera & Photo

I have a similar one for my video camera.

Holy crap they do.

:shock: L. I. B. !!

Now I want one.

Anyone else have one of these? Runnah, how much have you used it? What do you think of it?