Wind. Trees whipping about. Big gusts of wind. Big, big —
CRACK …
THUD …
CRASH …
So about thirty-plus feet of huge branch/trunk from the cottonwood in the neighbors yard split off and, taking down further branches along the way, came smashing down, spanning the fence between our hards, and crashing into the corner of the deck and the lilac bush.
Not, mercifully, the house.
Well.
Went out, pulled away some of the branches, recovered a couple of the garden boxes that were knocked down, then looked at it for awhile.
Hrm.
The neighbors, by the way, have moved out. Which meant I could go over to their side of the yard and take pictures from there, too.
We’ve called their realtor to deal with the carting away of wood, and our insurance agent (pro forma). Hopefully the lawn mowing people won’t come tomorrow.
Total losses, so far: light damage to the deck, lost a couple of garden boxes, lost the bird feeder and holder for same. The fence is not in very good shape there, either, but it was rickety enough that it pulled free rather than smashing.
More, possibly, when we inspect further.
And, according to the Weather Underground:
Tornado Watch until 10 PM MDT… scattered thunderstorms will continue over the Metro area through 6 PM. Most of these storms will occur in areas north of I-70. One storm in particular will move through the Denver International Airport around 515 PM. Brief heavy rain and wind gusts to 45 mph can be expected. The gusty winds will cause areas of blowing dust reducing visibilities to a mile in places. Other storms will move through southern Weld County near Fort Lupton.
A few storms may move through way south of I-70, too. Heh.
Aaaand … the Testerfolk are without power. Wonder if that’s related?
By the way, just checked the deck. I was wrong — the impact seems to have seriously sheered the 4×12 beam along the outside of the deck, meaning that the corner by the (erstwhile) bird feeder is now … bouncy.
Rrg.
Time for a different call to the insurance agent.
4×12 is a pretty strong beam. How much force did that it transmit to the structure of the house when it broke? Check for hidden damage.
I suspect it fractured along an existing crack in the beam. The deck itself was on a “we’re probably going to replace it in about 5 years” schedule — which has suddenly moved up significantly.
Margie talked with the insurance agent, who suggested filing a claim so that (a) it’s on record, and (b) they can do the tracking down of the other folks’ insurance, etc. She’s done so. She rocks.