FRANKENSTORM -- IN PHOTOGRAPHS

Ya just gotta love those witty weather folks.  So clever with their hype.  And for what it's worth, there was no Halloween this year.  Frankenstorm was it.

I was sitting in a hotel room in Austin when I caught a glimpse of the news crawl.  Because I wasn't in NY, it was little more than a blurb in the midst of the moving words.  Bottom line.  I got home from Austin on Saturday afternoon.

Spent all day Sunday attempting to get "you will lose your electricity" supplies.  No batteries, no water, no peanut butter, no bread......  Did the best I could.  Monday started out just fine.  The wind started to kick up early in the day.  It was no big deal.  Except it was.  Somewhere.  The internet went out first and the electricity shortly thereafter.  That was about 2PM on October 29th.  The power didn't return until November 9th some time after 7PM.  It was twelve, count em... yes TWELVE days.  

We were out-driving-in the height of the storm, trying to get home, detoured by blocked roads and downed wires but that's a story not worth telling.  It will only serve to piss me off so I'll leave that alone for now.....  I'll just proceed to the photo portion of the story.....When we were finally able to safely leave, this is a bit of what we saw in the area right around my home.

I want to note that we were in a very hard hit area only because it is very wooded.  Tree removal crews had to work with power crews.  The real devastation is south of me.  Homes were flooded.  We were merely inconvenienced.  Others lost everything.  Including lives.  This was just a mess..... destruction.  But there is a big difference between destruction and devastation.  My heart breaks for many .......

Trees blocking roads

Wires draped across roads

Poles snapped like toothpicks

Trees across front lawns

Wires holding trees from falling to the ground

Uprooted trees that are 10 feet or more in diameter

My next door neighbors couldn't get into their home.  The tree was already cut in half and removed from their cars

And around the corner

And this was the extent of the damage I sustained.  It's
a pretty big table.  The wind lifted the glass from underneath
and it slammed into the house.  You can see the glass which
extends off the left side of the photo.

And more huge trees

I'm not kidding when I say HUGE.. these suckers lifted cement and all.

And leaned on still MORE wires.

This twisted mess was around the corner...

And I suspect this had plenty to do with why we had no power for 12 days

I needed this for firewood. It was a tame scene in comparison to the rest and there are NO wires!

I went to sleep......

And the following morning......

....it was time to leave......

I used my time wisely and spend three hours in the very warm DMV renewing my license.
I charged my phone, had internet access and you know it's bad when you prefer being
at the DMV to any other place in the area.....

Then, there was an election..... and no power to light or heat the school.  

And everyone, everywhere that DID have electric was
very generous with their power.  Very neighborly!

But, Mother Nature wasn't quite finished with NY.

It started out just looking very pretty.....

Until eight inches of snow was on the ground.  Roads were closed.
Too much snow, no plows, icy roadways.....
I do believe that's what they mean when they say
"Let's add insult to injury"

What Frankenstorm didn't destroy, the nor'easter did.  My crepe myrtle is a goner...

And George won't be picking any apples off my little tree.....

And I have been nurturing these evergreens... Each season we lose at least three.... I finally had a whole row
All healthy..... There are 8 of them.  Four are half uprooted and turned sideways.  The gardener did his best
to try to shore them up... We'll see what happens in the spring.  The damn snow pushed them over the edge....

This is what the roads still looked like last Sunday.  Two full weeks after the storm.....

A mangled, twisted mess....

Of wires dangerously close to the roadway and no sign of anyone to fix them...

Just those little cones....

And scary looking wires....

And a sign that made me laugh..... because it told the whole story.  A simple twisted sign.....

Oh... and I had a birthday right just hours after the power went back on.....  And the cocktails were well earned!