Mr. Fix-it and I own a little house in southern Indiana; which was right in the line of one of the worst ice storms ever. On a recent trip up there I thought I'd snap some pictures of the damage done by the ice storm. The damage is quite severe and it is a big mess in all the states affected by this ice storm. Many homes were without electricity for several days. I want to tell everyone affected by the storm how my heart goes out to you dealing with this big mess. So now let's look at some pictures of the damage.The above homeowner had a tree fall on the house. Fortunately there does not appear to be any damage to the house.
Most folks were very busy cleaning up their yards and removing debris. The state, city, and county workers were on the job. The heavy equipment was out to clear the roads and restore power to all affected people. The air literally hummed with the whine of numerous chainsaws.
I noticed mature maples were most affected with limb breakage during this storm. I would've thought the evergreens would take it worse due to their leaves catching the ice, but not so. The evergreens seemed to be more willing to bend without snapping, though several are still leaning. All of my evergreens have bounced back and I lost only one limb from my pine. Shockingly. Here I show you a mature maple snapped just like it was a toothpick. The sights were surreal to me, though the Jimster was not impressed. Even entire forests topped by the ice did not impress the Jimster. He does not realize those trees will have a hard time recovering from the loss of their primary trunk.
The Country Club and its surrounding fence suffered severe damage. Homeowners insurance carriers will be busy with claims to fix the fences and property damaged in this storm.
More splintered wood. The hardwoods just seemed to not be so resilient and broke quite jaggedly with all the extra weight of the ice. These trees will need some serious pruning in order to recover. Sadly, I suspect many will not be pruned. This may bring unwelcomed consequences further down the road in the form of the tree becoming diseased and ultimately dying.
Our grand magnolias were also affected, though not as severely as the deciduous trees. Generally speaking, the magnolias I saw only lost some lower branches; which is not always a bad thing if the homeowner wants his or her tree limbed up.The area also received a good bit of snow along with the ice. It is funny how the storm dumped tons of snow further north where several of our blogging friends live, but that snow did not cause the same damage as the ice. Snow and ice are two very different things that can cause all sorts of problems in their own way. The weather is a bit discriminative in its course, and decided to take a big punch at the southern Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and northern Tennessee area during this storm. But it is okay, life goes on and I am very glad the majority of folks have gotten their power back now. P.S. Our home suffered no damage other than losing power for two days.
For more ice pictures see The Garden Sanctuary. There are some excellent pictures of the ice on that blog showing just how thick the ice was on all it encased.
in the garden....
Hi all. I just wanted to give everyone a head's up on this blog. I still have my very full blogroll, but I have chosen to only display the 25 most recent posters. It rotates so everyone will be displayed as they post. I will do my very best to visit each and every new post, but time is becoming a bit more limited so I might not be as diligent as I'd like to be. If you are not listed on the Blogroll, don't worry-there is an excellent chance I have you on my blogroll at Blotanical. I use both sources equally to visit a great number of blogs. I hope you understand that with gardening season coming up and family commitments I may be in the garden a bit more, or doing the dreaded housecleaning thingy so I may not be around as often.
Additionally, with all of these wonderful, wonderful comments and the daily conversations we have, I find I spend way more time on here than I should. I will always respond to comments, but it may be on your blog if time is limited and I cannot respond on here. I know you totally understand. If you are one of my very earliest commenters and do not have a blog (you know who you are!), I will respond on here but it may be a bit more general.
Posting will still continue as always-once per day. It was always my goal to do it this way (thanks to my good blogging mentor who gave me great advice a very long time ago-and you know who you are!) and also a big thanks to my co-posters for helping me out and doing a super good job on the blog.
Again, I appreciate everyone who either reads here or comments here and that will never change....
in the garden....
I just read of the tornadoes that hit Texas and Oklahoma. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to all affected.
I can't even imagine the damage in person. Reminds me of when the hurricanes come through here, Florida.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame all those trees were damaged and caused damage to people's homes. Just like Darla, I thought of what can happen with a hurricane.
ReplyDeleteJan
Always Growing
Yes, pictures like that remind us of hurricanes and now the tornadoes that hit OKC area yesterday. Just heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteJanet
Oh, I remember well. The evergreens did a great job getting by in our bad ice storm. Powerlines are the worst. Too bad about all the hardwood suffering. Glad no one was hurt.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina, that was a terrible example of mother nature's wrath, (not Donna). Your empathy for the trees comes through loud and clear, I am so sorry for them as well as the humans affected. The tornados in OK are a scary thing as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for your busy life, including the housecleaning thingey, the nicer weather has affected my blog time too. It happened last year when spring came and adjustments will be made. We all understand and will see you when we see you! :-)
Frances
The ice storm was so devastating! My heart goes out to those who suffered.
ReplyDeleteYou know we all understand--we so appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience with us.
Have a wonderful day!
In the past we have suffered through a devastating ice storm also. We learned a new respect for power tools as well in regard to clean up.
ReplyDeleteDonna
Dear Tina,
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredibly destructive ice storm it was...and now, we are in tornado season. Yikes.
I hear you about blogging... When my family needs me or the weather beckons...I will answer. It's getting to be spring and when that happens there's more gardening and less blogging. My dear...we understand. Gail
Tina, how funny. I was reading your blog when you posted a comment on mine. That is too bad about all that ice storm damage, especially to old magnolias.
ReplyDeleteIn Maine the white pines snap branches all over the place, but the other evergreens are more flexible. Aren’t you lucky to be starting your gardening season. I’m looking at the old piles of iced snow and wondering how I’ll shovel up that high when the next storm hits.
I shall have to visit your blog and enjoy spring vicariously. So get out there in the garden and don’t worry about time lag on your responses. It’s a gardening blog after all.
That is some massive damage. I remember the last bad ice storm we had here took out our power for about a week and wreaked havoc on all the yards. We will see you when we see you Tina. It's hard to keep up with the comments when you're busy elsewhere. I understand! :)
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to all the people affected by this too ! Ontario and Quebec had a disaster of one in '98 the year before we came home from Holland .. we were lucky not to be here .. it was like a huge bomb went off .. the trees were flattened if not in a crashed state on houses and buildings.
ReplyDeleteI saw a tornado in that area in the news last night .. they were saying it was an early start to the season .. it must be so gut wrenching to live in fear of them ..
I hope more help comes to theose people to get their lives back on track : )
Good morning all! Crazy windy weather here and I'm thinking I need to go tie my trampoline down. You all stay safe today and hunker down!
ReplyDeleteTina,
ReplyDeleteSuch terrible ice storm damage. I feel for those who are under hardship during the bad economic times and also have to deal with storm damage, too.
I understand completely about the blogging -- I am in the same boat. My husband and I have so many things going on, including being outside in the garden. This is also a very busy time of year for my paid freelance writing. I've been burning the midnight oil to keep up with my best client's assignments. I need the $ since our retirement accounts are pitiful!
With THREE blogrolls on my blog, I am also having trouble making my blog rounds!
Don't worry -- I'll watch for your posts and will always come back when there's something new.
Take care. Have fun.
Cameron
Very sobering photos, Tina.
ReplyDeleteFor all my complaining about the cold and the snow (really not very much) this winter, ice is definitely the harshest element of the winter. I have been reading stories about the destruction caused by this ice storm and the people who were rescued after days of being stranded in their homes with no power. My heart goes out to all of these people, and I am thankful that we were spared--a similar storm did a lot of damage last year to a town just south of us. And now it's tornado season--even worse!
ReplyDeleteTina, I've always wondered how you kept up with all the blogs you read and being such a faithful commenter. I decided you must not sleep! I think we can all understand that as gardening season approaches, the garden is going to be top priority over blogging.
Tina, it's not even gardening season here yet and I can't seem to keep up! I think you do a commendable job of posting everyday and leaving great comments on so many blogs.
ReplyDeleteThe ice strom did so much damage it's hard to comprehend it all. The loss of so many beautiful trees will take years to recoop. And that means loss of hahbitat for lots of critters and birds-it's quite a cycle of destruction. Thankfully most people have power now and are getting their lives back to normal.
Unfortunately I can imagine the damage all too well -- we had Hurricane Fran come through in '96 and a couple of really bad ice storms in the last 15 years. The edge of the last big ice storm was west of us, so we were spared, but my FIL didn't have power for a week. But he did have a wood stove.
ReplyDeleteI feel so sorry for those people without power in an Indiana winter. No power in summer is bad enough, winter is even worse.
Unfortunately I can imagine the damage all too well -- we had Hurricane Fran come through in '96 and a couple of really bad ice storms in the last 15 years. The edge of the last big ice storm was west of us, so we were spared, but my FIL didn't have power for a week. But he did have a wood stove.
ReplyDeleteI feel so sorry for those people without power in an Indiana winter. No power in summer is bad enough, winter is even worse.
oh I 'm so sorry to see that !! I hope all peoples are ok !!! ist so terrible, sorry !!! have a savety time !!! kathrin from bremen germany
ReplyDeleteThat's just amazing that all those trees were just snapped apart like that. I hope the weather everywhere just calms down and gives everyone a break.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be nice to get paid for all the time spent on blogs. I feel like I've gotten a second job. I hope we all get to start spending more time outside soon. Enjoy you gardening time !
Ice can cause a lot of destruction and to me, it is amazing that something can raise such havoc and be so pretty at the same time. We have some ice damage from time to time, mostly with power outages but, thankfully, we do not have to deal with hurricanes or tornados. My heart goes out to people that do. I'll take the ice over those anyday.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awful thing to have to deal with! Ice is so much worse then snow and not welcome at my house! We had a bad ice storm here in GA back in 2004 and the town was at a stand still! Tornadoes, we are prepared for but ice storms, we are not! We were without power for 30 hours but we are campers and did just fine with a fire burning in the fire place. Bed time was mighty cold though. Burrrr. Saint has since installed a gas heater (propane) in our sunroom so we are ready for the next power outage during the winter months. We lost two trees due to ice, those stumps now are home to Boston Ferns in the summer…
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures on the Garden Sancurary but so brutal with damage.
Tina, I do believe we all can agree that blogging time will be consumed with Garden time this spring as well as during growing season. One only has so many hours in a day... How much sleep do you get each night? 2 or 3 hours? lol....
I feel so bad for anyone suffering thru ice storms, especially if they are in the northern states. The insides of homes become very cold quickly and there is always fear of water lines and appliances freezing. Often the homeowner can't live at home because it's just too cold in a house with no heat.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Oh, terrible, I hope all the people stay well... Dear greetings to you - Kessi
ReplyDeleteIce can be so much more dangerous than snow, at least in my experience. It's one thing I'm glad we don't have a lot of where I live. I hope everyone is back on track now.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the blogging too. I'm pondering what to do with that very issue. It feels exactly like Catherine said, "a second job" but one you love so hard to give up. No worries if you're absent, I'll know you're "in the garden!!"
I think you are right and many of the damaged trees will just be left to struggle along on their own. When so many are having trouble paying the rent and putting food on the table, the health of your trees doesn't seem as important as the health of your family.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the amount of blogging that you're able to keep up with! Always pleased to have you drop by my blog, but won't take it amiss when you need time off from your virtual life to address your real time one!
That's a sad scene...All those beautiful trees and such severe damage.
ReplyDeleteI can understand about the blog visiting part. I've often wondered how you do it and post regularly too! Will miss you but it's good to know that you'll be happily gardening.....
Afternoon All,
ReplyDeleteTina those are some very graphic pix of the ice storm. So sad that a lot of the trees suffer. Hopefully not too many homes suffered. Life & family comes first.
Here in Fl. during tornado season all live with breath held.
I do understand the time factor of blogging. Now that Spring is here I will have to back off some of the reading & commenting too as it takes me forever to do anything as slow as I am due to my limitations. So don't worry we will see you when you have time.
Hey all, very very windy here. I will still be visiting blogs-don't worry as I would miss that so much, just not commenting on my own as much.
ReplyDeleteEveryone, Blogging should be fun-there is never an obligation put on us except by ourselves-and therein lies the problem. Scale back and don't ever worry about being obligated to me or anyone else:) Have fun with it all!
Such devastation. Like everyone else, I'm saddened by the tree loss and damage, but glad you folks are alright... Deb
ReplyDeleteOklahoma has terribly bad luck with tornadoes. I grew up there, so I recall. We just had a mild thunderstorm here. A few little twigs to pick up here and there. Lucky, yes we were.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Wow, that is some major tree damage. We had something similar to this last year. I am glad it did not get that bad here where I live. My prayers go out to all those people effected by the storm.
ReplyDeleteTina,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that happened now, and not when plants were actively growing.
Hey, I like what you wrote about comments and blogging. I am spending way too much time blogging, too, and even with that, follow so many blogs, that I can't keep up. Something will have to give soon.
Take care,
Sue
It's so horrible when nature turns destructive. Although the winds are beyond our control, it's sad that so much damage can happen in so short a time.
ReplyDeleteI am re-writing this, Tina, re: posting and visiting, etc. It is a lot of fun for me and I've really enjoyed meeting you and others. I agree that with the warmer weather coming, there will be less time for sitting and blogging. We'll all learn to adapt and adjust as best we can, I suppose.
Ice storms can be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, but they sure can do alot of damage. It's been years and years since we had one here.--Randy
ReplyDelete