After the storm…
On Tuesday, May 15th, my beloved Pine, a summer hive for wild honeybees, and one of the two majestic Oak trees that I photograph almost daily, were snapped and hurled into the air and through my living room window and roof, terrifying me and my four precious cats. The broken trees came through the window in a matter of seconds and thankfully, I had already made it to the kitchen and out of their deadly path. Very happy to be alive and sharing these images. Now.. the cleanup and rebuilding begins. I’m guessing it will be at the least two months before I will be able to be living and working again in my very powerful and beautiful place along the banks of the Delaware River.
I’ve photographed and enjoyed these three trees every day since I moved into this home in Narrowsburg NY. The May 15th storm has totally changed my view, as you will see in the photos of after the storm. My love of the trees, wildlife and all of nature remains even after the recent destructive (perhaps a culling) storm.
Storm Damage May 2018, Narrowsburg, NY
Very glad to be able to share these images. Jan had notified me of the coming storm. My friends know I often live in my own world and don’t pay attention to news, weather or much of anything when I’m in creative work mode. I heeded her advice and shut down my computer and turned off all of the equipment that I absolutely do not want to lose. I closed the riverview windows and headed to the kitchen, but turned back to see a whirl of white wind zooming around against the rolling dark clouds so decided I should also close the blinds for a bit of extra protection in case a branch hit the window.Then I turned and headed back to the kitchen and will be feeling blessed because I was just far enough away when the giant oak and pine trees hit the window and roof and landed smack in the middle of my living room/studio.
I have to admit that I’ve often made fun of the dramatic screaming scenes in films where the actor comes across a dead body or experiences a major trauma. I thought it was overdone and yet, there I was shrieking at the top of my lungs and running down the hall towards the other end of the apartment! Then I could not stop the exaggerated breathing for the next 30 or more minutes. I was terrified but not so much that I could not grab my camera and document the drama of the damage I was to see inside and out.
The cleanup process has begun and while I know it may be a month before I feel back to something ‘normal’, I am beyond grateful to still be here writing this and able to continue photographing and sharing images and art of nature.