Windstorm cleanup

Despite the forecasts for rain today (I was told), it couldn't have been a more perfect day for cleaning up from December's windstorm. Bright sun, clear blue sky and t-shirt temperatures -- any one of which is relatively rare in winter here, but all three together...

This was a good thing because there was more of a mess, in terms of branches and other stuff blown down than I had thought. A good thing too for the turnout of men this morning; even with all the workforce present it took much longer than I had expected to collect everything and feed it into the chipper. (And my muscles now ache...). One of the chainsaws got some use too, with Fr. Daniel collecting some firewood.

While I was cleaning up and raking the parking area and around, others were working down along the drive, picking up stuff. I was amazed at how many times Fr. Daniel drove Gordon's pickup up by the chipper to unload an overloaded bed full of branches. Nobody was counting so we don't know how many times it was, but it was quite a few.

The property looks better now. There is still a little work remaining, mostly in the gardens, but that won't take long. And we have a huge pile of mixed wood chips and needles, which just has to be useful for something. (I'm sure the garden experts will know; I think Nancy had some ideas...)