Before and after the storm ....

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All the following photos were snapped on my iphone    so quality  is not the best  but it records the  bough that  came down in a storm ten days ago  and shows  the damage and how it missed the garden arbour and seat by inches  .  I was stood by the  corner where the garden fence rail has been smashed just minutes  prior to this happening ... it  is a sobering thought  that I  missed being killed by about 7 minutes  ! 

The first pic was taken  in March  this year, from a bedroom window . The  bough outlined  ( covered in mistletoe )is the one that came down ... it didn't actually snap ; it  tore off so there was no resounding snap .Hubby was watching from the window and saw it  come down  just minutes after I had dashed indoors absolutley soaked after retrieving my secateurs and trug  from  the arbour where I had been gardening  most of the day ...

 

 

After the  storm 

 

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The  first pic taken  a few hours before the storm  the second was the scene that  met me when I went to investigate after the hailstones had stopped !

 

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Next day  we started the clear up ... three chainsaws were operating  between 8 of us ... !

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It missed t he arbour by inches  taking out two huge laurels and an acer 

 

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  I  don't  think  wearing a hard hat would have been any help  in these circumstances  so I maybe should have bought a lottery ticket that  weekend ! 

[Paul]

A great storyboard Polly - and it shows how even a tree can easily succumb to natures forces!

Paul.

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It has made me very nervous now about walking down that end of the garden .... The owner is making arrangements to have it felled  soon... It's a black Poplar ... there is a whole wood full of them  nearby ... They were apparently grown  to supply Bryant and May with  wood for their Safety matches production years ago ..... that would make a lot of matches !

[Kobione]

You were really lucky that you didn't get injured and, although there is quite a bit of mess, good that no more damage was done.