Destruction and beauty

The snow and ice buildup got the best of the giant trees surrounding our home. We awoke with a start early this morning to the unmistakable sound of a limb breaking under the pressure and crashing toward the ground. Later, I watched from our bedroom window as an ice-laden branch destroyed half of our large plum tree. Last night, a different limb sliced our very tall laurel hedge in two.

More limbs hit the house as Brad skied to my parents' house to borrow a saw. We spent the next several hours clearing a lot of the damage and cutting some of laurel that was bending under the weight.

The photos don't do it justice. The poor plum.
The poor hedge.
With the extension ladder precariously placed, Brad cut some top branches off the hedge in hopes of preventing a split.
Time to borrow the parents' pickup to haul off the debris.
But despite the destruction, the ice provided some amazing beauty!

This is why those fir branches are falling... this stuff is heavy!

-Liz :)