All is quiet

     It is a much quieter morning this morning.  The air is still and cool under an overcast sky.  The tree was removed yesterday afternoon, and we are moving on to the next phase of rebuilding.  We've been planning on re roofing the barns and the indoor arena.  This is the perfect excuse to start.  If we look upon it as an opportunity rather than a trial, then it's better.
     We have found an amazing Arborist, who is a fair, decent, and honest man.  He also does roofing.  He'll come tomorrow and measure for an estimate.
     The horses have been fed and are quietly browsing through their hay.  I'm enjoying my first steaming cup of tea as I write.  Chimney cleaning is the next task on the docket...then filling the wood racks...how I miss my wood stove in the light months.  I will soon have a place to keep my tea kettle warm.  A crackling wood fire is like a familiar entity, a comforting presence in the house.
     We move forward.  I am loosely planning a large pot of homemade chili, sweet cornbread, and an old fashioned barn raising.  We'll see.
     All is quiet on the western front.

Big Tree Fell on our Barn! Chapter 2

The Arborist made short work of removing the tree from the barn :)

The damage is even more impressive now that it's uncovered!

Big Tree Fell on our Barn!

Big oak tree fell on the barn last night and destroyed one of the stalls. Horses are OK. Building sustained pretty serious damage :(

We Heard a big crash just before midnight last night that shook the whole house. We went out to investigate, and found one of the horses loose in the yard. When we further investigated to see how she got loose, we discovered that a big red oak had fallen on her stall. She had a runout, and we don't know whether she was in the stall at the time, but, wherever she was, in her fright, she charged through the fence. Neither she, nor any of the other horses were hurt, but the building did sustain some pretty serious damage: