Wet Weather & Tree Problems

I've been burning a couple of days of vacation this week.  Being off on Thursday and Friday was a real treat, but it did feel a little weird not to get up and go in to the office. 

It rained pretty much both of those two days - good, heavy rains, which were sorely needed around here.  But, it tended to come down in deluges and we always have a problem with local street flooding when that happens.  I ended up staying home most of both days, simply because it was a mess outside and I had nowhere in particular I had to be.  That being said, I did enjoy quite a bit of down time, quiet time, lazy time.....and that was very nice.

It cooled off considerably during the night and I woke to hear the wind getting up a couple of times in the wee hours of the morning.  Eddie Dale was sweet enough to let me sleep in really, really late this morning.  But, when I finally dragged out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, he had something to show me. 

Apparently, the wind blew a pretty large limb out of one of the trees right up by the patio and the back of the laundry room.  The weight of the limb was balanced precariously on our power, telephone and cable lines running from the pole at the back of the lot up to the house.  The husband was in a bit of a dilemma as to how to go about cutting the branches off the power line.....

WAIT!!!  No way are we going to cut anything with a clumsy pole saw that close to a power line!  I practically yelled.  Instead, I suggested, why don't we call AEP and have them come out and get the branches off the line???  After all, isn't that what we are supposed to do?  (And, please note, I never once used the word "crazy" to describe his suggested plan of attack with his blessed pole saw....)

He shrugged and went in to call AEP.  I guess the idea had simply not crossed his mind as he dwelled on how he could take care of the situation himself.  I am just thankful I did not wake to the sounds of him firing up his power saw....

We set about the business of waiting for someone to show up, praying that the wind didn't get up again or it didn't start pouring rain again and add weight to the branches already on the lines, causing them to snap.

Finally, after nearly six hours, a big heavy bucket truck lumbered to a stop in front of our house.  Within about 10 minutes, the two AEP workers had the branches cut and off the power line - safely!  And we are left with the debris to cut up and haul away once things dry out a bit. 

I am so thankful that we didn't end up with a downed power line.  And I am thankful for the extra down time we had while we waited.  We made chicken quesadillas for lunch and watched a sweet little movie on Netflix together.  Eddie Dale started a big pot of beans for supper simmering on the stove.  We raised the windows (just a little bit - it is a cool and cloudy 61 degrees, after all) and have enjoyed just being at home for the day.  I think the pups have enjoyed it, too! 

The lesson here is that sometimes you have to rely on others to help you.  There are some problems that you just can't handle safely on your own.  It only took those guys a few minutes to do what we could have struggled with for hours.  They had the right tools and the right training to accomplish the task safely.  We just had to be patient and wait for them to get to us and not plunge in willy nilly and risk getting hurt in the process.  

Tomorrow will be my last day off before returning to work.  I will need to dust, vacuum and clean a bit.  And catch up on mounds of laundry.  So, I have that to look forward to......but, the last three days of "taking it easy" have been totally worth it! 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Jane