The leaning tree

There's a long list of hurricanes that have impacted the Mid-Atlantic region, but the one I remember most clearly is Isabel in September of 2003. Isabel reached us, powering over two mountains to make life memorable for a few days. 

We knew she was coming - how could we not? It was all over television channels when she reached a Category 4. By the time she got to us, here in western Maryland, they called her a tropical storm. We were concerned, but not overly so. We'd live through a lot of storms. We could do one more. 

Isabel hit. The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency and we started to watch the weather broadcasts a bit closer. The rain came and the wind blew. Sometime around midnight on September 18, a Thursday I think, we caught a micro blast and an eighty-foot oak tree fell a mere ten yards from the house. It brought me out of a sound sleep, let me tell ya. A few smaller trees came down, a few across the driveway which necessitated cutting our way out with a chainsaw. One of the big maples to the west started to go but got hung up in the trees surrounding it. It's been leaning ever since. 

We joke about how much firewood is in that maple. Suffice it to say it's a lot. Taking it down will be tricky, which is why it's still standing, but it's got to come down soon. I'd rather it comes down in the manner we choose and not in the middle of some dark and stormy night. They make a lot of noise when they come down on their own, and I need my sleep.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor