As soon as I signed off on the blog earlier in the day, we all dressed up again for another winter adventure outside. The boys wore their puffer vests (Shorty green, Fionnegan blue and Gunnarr red, no new pictures, sorry) and we were off to assess the damage to the fence and possible damage to the car. The boys ran and entertained themselves as I sawed with my trusty hand saw the branches into pieces that I could drag over the hill to the brush pile.
I made sure the gates were all secured as two years ago Shorty escaped through an open one while I was shoveling. I will never forget that and I don't think he has either as he checks the gate every time it snows! He still has a roaming spirit.
So I worked for a couple of hours sawing branches, dragging them over the hill until I had sawed the fallen branch as close to the fence as I could. I was hoping that with a shorter branch sticking out from the fence that there would be no more damage from the heavy falling snow. I made a plan to call my lawn company to see if they might be able to remove the rest of the branch and possibly repair the fence.
So we went inside to have lunch and watch the Patriots game on TV. There was now no time to clear off the car and drive to the game and it was snowing really hard. The good news is that the car was not damaged, just brushed with the branches. The branches were on the back of the car but they did not dent anything. The fence took the brunt of the hit and spared the car. We really need the car to get to work and the fence can be mended at some point.
After the game, we all dressed back up in our winter gear and I decided to try to saw the branch from the other side of the fence. It was still snowing and the boys were having a fun time chasing each other and something they found in the snowbank. They also saw a deer in the back yard and went crazy barking at it.
The branch turned out to be too thick for the hand saw - it was sawed over halfway through but kept getting stuck - but gave me enough maneuverability to pull the branch from the fence. Success! The branch was really heavy but with much effort I was able to pull it out of the rhododendron that it damaged and drag it along the place where the snow is plowed. The smaller branches were carried over the hill to the debris pile.
While I could not bend the bar back into place, I was able to pull up some of the chain links to secure most of them to the bar. My greatest concern was that the boys would try to climb the open fence and check out the neighborhood. They all have had a little taste of freedom at one time or another, hence the fence, and it is incredibly unsafe for them to leave the yard. So I do my best to make sure they are secure. Snowstorm or not, we were getting that tree moved and fence secured!
The issue of where to park my car is troubling as I have no garage. This is the third time a branch from a tree has hit the car. Once the car was hit while it was outside the gate, and twice inside the gate. I don't really want to cut down the trees as they are a home for the birds and squirrels and chipmunks provide a screen from the neighbors. We had the dead branches of the trees cut down a couple of years ago and the one the broke was a healthy one. Just bad luck, I guess. But I do keep an eye on the pine trees.
Well, at least our day was better than the Patriots. They lost yet another game this season. I was sad I did not get to the game to see the last one of the year, but things happen. Next year as they say.
I hope you all were safe during the snowstorm for those of you who live in the snow belt.
Until next time.......
