Crow’s Nest storm cleanup progress

We now have electricity at the preserve, a welcome addition. We were out only three and a half days (during which we were away for one) but it felt like a week. Some of our neighbors (and indeed people throughout the world) are still without.

We were able to meet our needs without the grid but I really missed access to the internet. I am only now catching up on news and paperwork.

Today Sean and I concentrated on chipping branches and fallen trees in yards and pastures at the preserve. There is still another half day of this and then I will concentrate on trails, which should require a chainsaw and power pole pruner but not the chipper. (I still have a couple days of chipping, the usual twice a year piles, to do next week.)

Thanks also go out to Darin and Jarrod for stopping over to cut up more wood. NLT staff has provided wonderful support.

One note of caution: branches are still falling. Sean and I chipped branches at one location and then happened to pass by there later in the day. “Did we miss that branch?” “No, it wasn’t there this morning.”

For me the saddest tree we cut up today was a multiple-trunked cherry that the kids at our nature clubs used to climb. It was shattered by the storm and we’ve taken it completely down.

Some trails will be open by this weekend but it is unlikely that all of them will be free of debris. We’ll update you as we make progress.