Apparently we got some pretty intense wind on Saturday night, because when I walked Olga yesterday morning and we rounded the corner onto the adjacent street, I found this.
It apparently -- and miraculously -- didn't land on any cars, at least not directly, though there appeared to be some minor dents and scratches. It must have made quite a sound but we never heard anything.
"I didn't do it!"
And then later, when I took Olga to the cemetery for her afternoon outing, we found another tree down -- admittedly, a dead one that needs to be removed anyway.
I stopped to take my annual picture of the Christmas tree recycling cage at Fortune Green, and found that some apparently wide-ankled child had lost their yellow wellie. Once again, the perennial question posed by a single lost shoe: How did they get home?
Otherwise, yesterday was pretty quiet. I read and in the evening had a New Year's martini while watching the "Absolutely Fabulous" episode "Happy New Year," in which Patsy's glam sister shows up on New Year's Eve and destroys Edwina's plans to attend Frankie Knuckles' CD-ROM Dance Happening at the underground car park in Romsey. One of my favorite episodes.
We also Skyped with Dave's parents. I'm pretty sure they could tell I was tipsy given that his mom signed off with, "Well, we'll let you get back to your celebrating!"
Lots of neighborhood fireworks last night -- I saw some bright flashes and heard many pops and cracks but wasn't outside to see any of them directly. Olga, as usual, snored through it all.
And now, welcome to 2024! I'm starting the year by getting rid of our old television, which I had to set out at the curb last night for pickup. I'm surprised they're doing collections today, but when I scheduled the appointment online this is the date I was offered. Let's see if it actually happens.
Happy new year.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the kid with one wellie was carried home and the wellie fell off during the trek. Glad you didn't witness any injuries or personal damage as a result of those fallen trees. The color and contrast in the photos are powerful. Onward 2024.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't put much money on the old TV being collected but then again the pickup men are probably on double time today. Happy New Year to the three of you!
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with Wellies but it looks like what I call an overboot, a waterproof one that you can slip over your "rubber" shoes during inclement weather. Still, I think it would be very noticeable losing one and still getting home.
ReplyDeleteThat darling boot would make a nice home for a plant…
ReplyDeleteWow, that was some wind and, Yes, how does one lose a single boot?
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Steve!
ReplyDeleteStarting the New Year off watching the London New Year's Day Parade on PBS. Lots of school bands from over here!
Will be having biscuits and gravy for my breakfast in about an hour!
Happy New Year Steve. Love your new hat, although you're right, how creepy that something knew your husband's name.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the new year blew in pretty hard there:)
Wind is nature's pruner and clearer, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWell, Happy New Year and good for you for getting rid of that old TV. I actually thought about throwing away an emory board that has no. more grit left on it than a popsicle stick but I haven't managed that yet.
Hope 2024 is a good year for you, Dave and Olga!
ReplyDeleteYou were tipsy on "a New Year's martin"? Was it a pint?
ReplyDeletetrees do fall on cars and houses but it's amazing how many times they don't, proof of their sentience doing their best to fall in between.
ReplyDeletemore fireworks last night than usual. guess I'm not the only one glad to see this year close. lots of long strings of firecrackers. like you I didn't venture out and Minnie disappears with the first burst only to reemerge around 2 AM.
and Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteHappy new year! High winds usually clear out a lot of dead branches, even entire trees. Best when they don't fall on people though.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! It looks like 2024 made a forceful entrance in your part of the world. I read that the Chunnel got flooded and stranded many people trying to travel between London and the continent.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you booked that hotel in LA. It's a good location. There are lots of dining options within walking distance which is unusual for a city where the car is king.
That wide ankled boot looks like sort of boot one pulls over their shoes. Happy New Year Steve.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the two trees should have been taken down a long time ago as they both had problems.
ReplyDeleteYou are allowed to be pissed on New Year’s Eve
ReplyDeleteIs your mom in law a Quaker?
Very fortunate tree falling..just been for a walk here and seen the wind has thinned out a few trees on the local nature reserve.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why Ellen's comment made me cry - imagining trees trying to be careful when falling over. Oof.
ReplyDeleteThings have changed here since 2017. There have always been fireworks NYE, but last night sounded like a war zone. It was unbelievable. Hopefully, that's the last of it. We're watching Vera on BritBox again, so that was last night. Amazon needs to get some new material up
ReplyDeleteHigh winds in London, heavy snow in South Korea, earthquakes in Japan. Quite a way to ring in the new year. I hope it doesn't predict what our year will be like (politically). That one yellow Wellie makes me think of the legend of socks disappearing in the washer or dryer, one at a time!
ReplyDeleteThat must have been quite a windstorm! We usually end up with branches down when it blows but not trees unless there are strong gusts. Happy NY!
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best for 2024. High winds can cause damage. A couple weeks ago, we lost power for 3 days as a tree toppled an electric pole and started a fire on a transformer box. All repairs had to wait for the wind to ease. Olga looks curious about the downed trees.
ReplyDeleteWith damage like that, I'm surprised you didn't hear the wind! Were you already celebrating a day early? 😉
ReplyDeleteIt was a rather sad NYE around here, but that's just the way it is sometimes. I'll be interested to know if the TV gets picked up today.
I wonder if you've taken care of babies and toddlers. Until I did I could never understand things like one child's shoe in a park, a sole sock somewhere or a forlorn teddy bear not discarded but just accidently left behind or dropped.
ReplyDeleteSometimes wind that comes from an unusual direction can knock down trees, even if the wind is not terribly strong, which happened in the ranges near us a couple of years ago. I think as they grow they become strong against prevailing wind directions, rather than less usual directions.
It seems the entire planet is experiencing tree-uprooting winds, we've had our share lately.
ReplyDeleteYou have a new TV ready to go right? I have never seen Absolutely Fabulous, but if we get repeats I'll be sure to watch at least one episode.
Happy New Year.
Yael: Same to you!
ReplyDeleteMitchell: Oh, that's a good point. Or maybe they were in a stroller.
YP: It's just weird that the web site would allow me to schedule a pickup on a day when they're not working!
Ed: I'm not sure whether one wears shoes under wellies or not!
Linda Sue: True! I will leave it to someone else to rescue it, though.
Bob: I'm guessing parents took them off their child to put on regular shoes and somehow left one behind.
Marcia: I am embarrassed to say I didn't even know we HAD a New Year's Parade!
Pixie: It announced itself quite forcefully!
Ms Moon: Ha! Well, to be fair, it's easier to live with a surplus emory board than a surplus TV.
Ellen D: And I hope it's a winner for you too, Ellen!
Tasker: Ha! A martini is pretty much straight gin, so it's a powerful drink. If I'd had a pint of martinis I'd be unconscious. (And possibly in hospital.)
Ellen: You'd think the trees would WANT to fall on us, after all we've done to them!
Boud: It's true -- as someone said, it's nature's way of pruning.
Sharon: Good to know about restaurants! We did rent a car but I'd be happy to be able to walk.
Debby: Yeah, I'm sure that's the point. I was joking about the wide-ankled child. :)
Red: The ones in the cemetery are both dead and have been for a while. I'm surprised the weakness in the street tree wasn't noticed before it fell. The council is usually very vigilant about inspecting them.
John: Ha! She's a Lutheran! I don't think she meant it judgmentally -- I think she was just teasing me. :)
GZ: Hopefully making room for some new ones to grow in their place!
Bug: That IS a touching idea!
Allison: Yeah, we're suffering from a dearth of programming too!
Catalyst: It does seem like there's a lot going on all of a sudden, doesn't it?
Margaret: It didn't seem that strong here in our garden but we have fences and walls to protect us.
Susan: Yikes! That sounds like dramatic damage! At least in the city all the utilities are underground so that kind of thing doesn't usually happen.
Kelly: I felt the same! I was in such a funk yesterday. Just a lot happening in the world, I guess.
Andrew: Oh, that's a good point -- direction can make a difference. I deal with dropped toys a lot with Olga!
River: Yeah, we already replaced the TV and the new one is up and running. Hard to believe AbFab is now 30 years old!
Happy New Year, Steve. I'm glad you had no damage to your house or garden. That had to be a lot of wind! Your NYEve sounds lovely -- I hope the new year is, as well.
ReplyDelete