The Gate Disaster and Ice Storm Damage

 Two days before the ice storm, I was taking a load of freshly sifted (by Johnny) compost to the garden to top off the raised beds that always sink over winter. The gate I have to go through is a huge and heavy twelve foot long, metal gate made from 72 lineal feet of one inch water pipe (these dimensions from Johnny) and 72 square feet of heavy duty chain link fence and 12 feet of rebar, a monstrosity six feet high. I always have a terrible time getting it open far enough to drive my EZ Go or garden tractor through. 

This time I could not get it open at all, so I retrieved a shovel and started digging out the grass and dirt that it was mired in. I made good progress and was hopeful I'd soon be able to swing it far enough open to drive through. However, I never got the chance. Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, it fell on top of me. Heavily. I was flattened to the ground and did not see how I could get out from under that monstrous, heavy thing. 

Johnny was in the house, waiting for the phone to ring to tell us we had a vaccine appointment. We were on a waiting list. I had stayed indoors in the morning and it was Johnny's turn in the afternoon while I got to work outdoors. I knew he would not come looking for me until dark. I was good and truly stuck. But I had to get out. So I squirmed what I could squirm and managed to get partly on my left side and eventually wiggled my way out from under the gate, I staggered to the house to get Johnny. By the time we got back, all the goats were in the garden, naturally. Navigating over the top of the downed gate was no problem for them.

We chased the goats out but I did not want that monstrous gate back up. Johnny noted that the hinges had broken and that's why it fell, after I had loosened the bottom. We did get a smaller, lighter gate from our stash of used gates (we have a lot of them) and moved the monstrosity farther down the garden and fastened it securely (hopefully) to a post. Now all I have to do is open the smaller lighter gate to drive through with my compost. And that's what I did and unloaded it into a couple of the bins. I was not hurting badly yet. That would come the next days.

The photos below show the new gate installed with the old gate attached to a post half way along its length. The last photo shows where I had been digging out the monster gate to get it open. 

 That was a little over two weeks ago and I am mostly healed. I could not lie flat for several days and had to sleep in my reclining chair in the living room. Then, of course, we lost power and I had no hot shower to ease my aching muscles. But we were only out of power for 2 1/2 days after which I started taking showers twice a day. In my efforts to keep from using my back and left side, I strained a muscle on the right side of my neck. But that is healed now and my back and side only hurt when I overuse them. Johnny has to be a little careful when he hugs me but he manages.

After Johnny had the driveway cleared of all the downed branches and trees from the ice storm, I prevailed upon him to bring his chainsaw to the arboretum where there was much destruction.

Eucalyptus don't like ice.  All those leaves coated with ice pulled the trunks over.

 

 

 

 

The Scots Pine got decapitated.

The Ponderosa Pines lost many tops and several trees, including two across our hay field fence.

You can sort of see some of the topped trees in the background and tops on the ground throughout.

I did not take photos of the mangled trees around the house. The birch took quite a hit but the hellebores under it seem unfazed. They just kept blooming underneath all the mangled branches.

 

The farm clean-up continues. Currently the lane going down to the well pump is impassable, but we can get there through the adjacent hay field. The trails in the woods by the creek are a tangle of downed trees but they can wait. We will have enough firewood to last the rest of our lives.

And now the daffodils have started blooming. I'd take photos but it is alternately hailing and raining today. They'll wait for another, drier, day.

By the way, we still haven't had our vaccines.