John, David and Heather were standing on the deck when it crashed to the ground and smashed the sheds to the east of it. It reached clear to the potato pit. It was pretty freaky! I was so sad. We had our insurance adjuster come out a few days later and they said we would have to take the whole tree down because the rest of it was hanging over the house. I was really sad then. That tree has been in the yard for over 100 years. It was the best shade tree ever.s
Well, we took it down and then the boys came and helped clean. They worked on the shed and the girls and grandkids raked the yard and filled in the big holes in the yard. I fixed a big supper and they really helped a lot. Then, last night, David came and tore out the whole deck. It took him 3 hours. Our place looks like a war zone, but it is getting better. All the kids have helped so much and John has worked all day in cleaning up around outside. It has been cold and windy, but he has been a real trooper. We will have to put in a new deck and somehow cover up the big stump. We are not rebuilding the shed, but will be putting in a new fence. In a few weeks I hope it will look great. My yard looks kind of lonely without the tree and I'm sure it will be a lot warmer when summer actually gets here. But, for now, I'm just glad it didn't hurt one of the kids or grandkids. We can count our blessings for that.
