With daylight today came a reckoning that the damage to our house in the wild wind storm last night was more severe than it first seemed.
Because the powerline is down and still live under all that debris, no one can safely walk around back there so we were relegated to peering from upstairs windows and the alley to try to assess the damage. Through it all we still have power, heat and internet. Amazing good fortune.
A snow storm is due tomorrow night: three to five inches predicted.
We DID dodge a major bullet, in that this sizeable maple didn’t keel over three or four feet to the left which would have struck the house squarely and probably ripped open part of the main roof and second floor pantry. Amazingly, them main rafters and structure of the roof appear still unmoved and unbroken. However, the damage to the very corner of the roof and fascia opened it up to the outside. Enter critters and enter winter. Also, the lower roof on the summer kitchen has sustained damage I couldn’t see in the fading light last night, and the back porch took a punch. It will be a while before all this can be set right.
My nephew Danny was over tonight to help me stuff fiberglass insulation into the spaces in the attic. We can’t safely put a ladder up to do any more until the powerline is secured, Holyoke Gas and Electric will be here in the morning to do that. Once that’s done, then the tree removal and repairs can be scheduled.
It could have been a lot worse. And I’m grateful to my nephew and the power company for their kindness and help.
Richard Authier Lee 