A Horseshoe in Our Back Pockets

Many years ago, when I was talking with my uncle about how something had worked out well for my younger sister, he said something like, “She was born with a horseshoe in her back pocket.” That phrase always stuck with me and I was reminded of it as we dodged a big bullet from Hurricane Sandy. So many people in this state with flooded homes, downed trees, and no power, and here we were practically unscathed. I was certain a tree would come down, but no. I was certain we’d lose power and was prepared for it, but no. I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed strong winds like that for such a prolonged period of time. Sure, there was a lot of rain, too, but for our area the wind was the worst part of the storm.

Here we are several days later and there are still people without power. A co-worker said he was told his power wouldn’t be on until NEXT Friday, which would make it almost two weeks without power. I don’t think I could manage without the heat for that long!

Here’s what kind of shape we’re in after the storm. Not too shabby, but did take me several hours to clean up.

Some branches came down in the back of the flower garden, but Winnie was still standing tall.

Back of the flower garden.

The aster was beaten down by rain and small tree branches.

The aster took a beating.

The rain and wind also hammered down what was left in the kitchen garden.

The water-logged kitchen garden.

At one point during the storm, I looked outside and saw the wind blowing so hard that the top of my rose standard was literally touching the ground. I was sure it was going to snap in half. Guess that thin piece of bamboo that it’s tied to was enough to help it out.

The standard rose is still standing.

The driveway was littered with small branches and twigs. We had parked diagonally across the street, away from the two tall trees by our driveway, because we knew that they drop branches even in mild storms.

The driveway.

The two trees to the left and the right of the driveway, thankfully still standing.

Trees by the driveway.

This branch landed on the roof, right by the power lines, but luckily didn’t do any damage.

Branch on the roof.

I think this was part of the same branch.

A branch.

These are some of the trees we were worried about, but they stood strong.

Trees by the house.

These are the three trees at the back of the flower garden. I watched them get whipped around during the storm.

Trees in the flower garden.

This was the sassafras tree BEFORE Hurricane Sandy...

 This is it now. The wind whisked away all those pretty yellow leaves.

All of the colorful leaves from the surrounding trees are now on the ground.

The garden gate.

The front porch steps.

We will have a lot to be thankful for this coming Thanksgiving. However, I can’t help thinking of all of the thousands of people whose lives were completely altered by this huge storm. My heart goes out to them. Let’s hope a “superstorm” like this never happens again.