Thursday, February 22, 2024

Storm Blew Down Tree and Ripped Away My Skylight

 Oh friends, earlier this month we had wild winds and heavy rain in my area of California. 

 The neighbor's large old tree in her backyard fell on her redwood fence, across the alley and then on my redwood fence, landing on a canvas awning and hanging over my patio. The tree landed one foot from my house and no damage was done. It brushed my brand new gutter but did not hurt it. The second photo is taken while I am on my patio. Even the yellow solar lantern survived.


One of my skylights was ripped off the roof during the rain storm. It is the type of skylight that opens and closes and it was 40 years old and the metal hinge rusted through. So I spent a lot of time mopping the floor. The roofing company came over quickly and put in a new glass skylight.

Above shows where the skylight was, that is the clouds you see.  Not too dramatic in the photo but rain poured in and I mopped and mopped.

I said lots of prayers of thanks to God that no damage was done to my house when the neighbor's tree fell and landed on my fence and patio. In the same storm a young man was killed in his house when a tree crushed his house. That is shocking and sad. So I am counting my blessings.

The two photos below show my neighbor's tree on the right hanging over her fence, blocking the alley and leaning on my fence on the left side of the photo. The tree had a huge six foot root ball and was a big job to remove. The neighbor called her tree guy and had the tree removed. Earlier this year her other large tree fell so she knew a tree company.

In the photo below my house is on the left and you can see that her tree is a foot from my house and new gutters.

On a happier note the photo below shows that my patio, fence, canvas awning and pink camellia survived beautifully. The tree landed right on that section of fence and on the awning.



33 comments:

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Wow! That is a close call. I am glad neither of you were hurt.
High winds like that are very scary.

Valerie-Jael said...

I am thankful that you were not hurt, and that the tree did not damage your house. Stay safe, hugs, Valerie

Debby said...

That was close! Glad you’re safe.

Shug said...

that was certainly a close call. glad that your new gutters were not damaged and that your flowers survived. This happened to us past year. Neighbors hugs tree came crashing onto our property...Damaged the fence (they were quick to have it replaced) and missed our pool by about 2 feet.

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Wow! That was a bit too close for comfort, but God was there, holding that tree back from doing any serious damage to your home. Praise God! And that camellia is so beautiful! I'm glad that was spared as well!! It is amazing how quickly a storm can change our landscape, home, and even take lives. I can imagine the mess you had with the broken skylight! I have one in my bathroom, and I think about it when we have storms and am so thankful that it has remained intact. I'm glad your roofing company has taken care of yours quickly, but not a fun way to get your floors mopped! Thankful that was all that happened. You are blessed.

Mari said...

Wow! That was a wild storm. So glad that your patio survived so well. I can only imagine how you mopped the rain coming through that skylight!

Emma Springfield said...

I know that was a lot of damage and I wish it had not happened. At the same time it could have been so much worse. I am happy you were not hurt. Stay safe.

Emma Springfield said...

I know that was a lot of damage and I wish it had not happened. At the same time it could have been so much worse. I am happy you were not hurt. Stay safe.

acorn hollow said...

Wow so sorry you had that damage. But so glad no one was hurt
Cathy

Rian said...

So sorry about the damage, Terra, but glad it wasn't worse.

Michelle said...

I am sorry to see/hear that you had trouble with the storms, but I am glad it wasn't any worse!!

Kathy G said...

Wow!

Wanda said...

We've been watching the news from California to the East coast and so much rain and damage. So glad your's was mimimal. The Goodness of God!
The pretty pink blooms say Spring is coming!!

Granny Marigold said...

That must have been some storm!! Thankfully the fallen tree didn't do as much damage as it could have!!

Debbie Nolan said...

Wow you were so fortunate to not have damage. Those wind storms can be so frightening. I live in a woods and I always get a bit nervous when they are calling for high winds. Take care and hope you continue to be safe. Hugs!

Christine said...

Stay safe

Jeanie said...

Oh no -- that's so sad. I'm so very sorry -- glad you weren't hurt but yikes.

Margaret D said...

Well I never. You and your house and neighbour were ever so lucky, but not so the man you mentioned.
It's good that you were able to get your skylight renewed rather quickly otherwise you may still be mopping..

Liz Hinds said...

You were blessed indeed. A narrow escape.

MELODY JACOB said...

What a harrowing experience to have endured during the storm! It's truly a blessing that no damage was done to your house despite the neighbor's tree falling onto your property. It's sobering to hear about the tragic loss suffered by others in the same storm, underscoring the importance of counting our blessings amidst such events. Your resilience and gratitude shine through in your words, and it's heartening to see your positive outlook despite the challenges faced. Thank you for sharing this story of resilience and gratitude with us. By the way, I just posted a new blog entry, and I'd love for you to check it out!

Sandi said...

Oh no...but how cool that you have ...had... a skylight!

Amelia said...

I'm so glad there was not more damage done and you are safe! But I know how things can be, it's a mess, right?

I hope things are better this week, : ) ~Amelia

Linda said...

How fortunate!!! Love your pretty patio!! and that CHAIR!!!

Linda said...

How fortunate!!! Love your pretty patio!! and that CHAIR!!!

Sam said...

Wow, that was one of those close calls that could have been so much worse if the tree had been just a few inches taller. Bad an experience as this must have been, you were pretty lucky as it turned out. I hope everything is back to normal for you now.

DawnTreader said...

Oh, how scary. So glad the tree did not reach your roof. Bad enough with the skylight, but I'm glad that on the whole you were lucky!! ♥

Tabor said...

I have seen trees larger than that fall in our woods and the power of that is frightening. I am so glad that your home is safe and that no one was injured.

Back2OurSmallCorner said...

Glad that you are all ok. God's hand was definitely protecting you from danger. God bless x

dori said...

Thanks goodness you were safe, dear Terra! The weather becomes more and more crazy and extremely. I know an elder song with the text: "It never rains in California..." I really can imagine the problem, when the rain took his way though the roof, because of the window, which flew away in the storm. God bless you! Many greetings from Dori from the Bavarian Forest.

diamondc said...

Terra: I am so sorry that damage happened, I hope it will be cleared up soon and damage is repaired.

Catherine☘️

DUTA said...

I am always afraid of storms.
No doubt, God's protection prevented serious damage to you and your property. Stay safe!

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Terra,
That was scary and sorry for you having to mop up all the rain water coming in.
Glad you got a new sky light and that the tree got removed.
Pieter my 94–year old husband had to run the 2 wet vacs and mop and empty heavy buckets from the wet vacs on February 12. From 11:00 AM till 9:00 PM... almost killing him and due to my accident I'm not able to do much.
But life goes on and we try to do our very best.
Hugs,
Mariette

Kay said...

Good gosh! That sounds absolutely awful. I'm so glad you were safe and your house received minimal damage. How awful that the storm caused the death of that poor man.