derecho
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2020 is the year trees and shrubs planted in the mid-1990s took a hit. While mowing for the first time after the Aug. 10 derecho I noticed an Earliblaze apple tree was in bloom. The branches with blooms had otherwise died. The Red Delicious apple tree lost a major branch during the storm. It seems… Read more
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Tuesday morning I cut the fallen locust tree trunk into segments and stacked them along with other firewood produced after the derecho. It will take several more shifts to cut and sort the remaining damaged tree branches. One of the oak trees needs removal once there is room for it to fall. After that I… Read more
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From drought to rain the last week has been unrelenting. The garden continues to produce and grass is growing again creating another task once the landscape dries. Doesn’t look like drying will happen today. I am helping the local political party distribute campaign yard signs. There are few parts of the county north of the… Read more
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Punk day? We go on living. Wednesday started well enough with cool temperatures and a 13-mile bicycle ride. Then I tried to clear the remainder of the locust tree laying across the garden. The Poulan chain saw started but when I hit the accelerator it died. That was the trouble last time I had it… Read more
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I spent a couple of hours reading in a shaded folding chair in the garage. That will be the extent of our vacation this summer. The weather was exceptionally nice on Saturday after the heat wave. I could hear chainsaws in the distance where neighbors were continuing derecho clean up. Mid afternoon a pickup truck… Read more
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After seven straight days of using the chainsaw my forearms are sore. I am taking a couple of days off to rest them before tackling the Locust Tree that fell across the garden. The sound of chainsaws in the neighborhood is ever present since the derecho hit on Aug. 10. Piles of brush are stacked… Read more
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Social fallout continues with a disruption of fall work. Sunday I told the chief apple officer I would not be back to work at the orchard this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Our county has been doing a poor job of preventing spread of the virus. The orchard is near the University of Iowa… Read more
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The pandemic was not blown away by the derecho. The derecho got me out of our bubble. There were more interactions with people as I made provisioning trips and discussed recovery with neighbors. Now that power is restored it’s time to launder masks of the coronavirus pandemic. It hackles me that we have a daily… Read more
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Without an anemometer it was difficult to know wind speed during Monday’s derecho. In Cedar Rapids wind speeds approached 100 miles per hour. The last major storm of straight-line winds in 2013 caused more damage to our property than the derecho. Both were bad. I watched the storm come in until it got so virulent… Read more
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Electricity expected in 3-6 days. Chain saw getting a workout. Had to buy a generator. Will be back soon. In the meanwhile, this sunflower survived the derecho, like us. Read more
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