Branching Out.

Source: yarn.co

We’ve had a lot of rain lately, and the other morning when I was taking the dogs out before breakfast I heard a sharp crackling sound from a few houses over. It was a tree, or at least part of one, and it sounded like it was near the road so I made a mental note to go in the opposite direction when I went out to run errands later.

We live in an old neighborhood, and it’s an area with big yards and a lot of trees. Our house was built in 1959 and I’m pretty sure some of the trees just in our yard are at least that old. It’s nice because it still has a natural feel even as the city’s development takes over surrounding areas and old homes are sold and torn down and replaced with oversized McMansions. Of course living in a house that predates the Beatles has its disadvantages too, like the time my dental hygienist suggested we get a water-pik and I said “That’s a great idea but we don’t have an outlet in the bathroom.” She thought that was weird and kind of funny but also not an excuse, so we have one and use it in the kitchen, then have to unplug it when we want to use the toaster, but that’s another story.

It’s also nice walking through a neighborhood with a lot of big trees. There was one afternoon that I was walking home from the bus and we had a sudden downpour and I was too far to get to my house but I was able to run into a neighbor’s front yard and stand under a tree that protected me from the worst of it. Then there was a loud clap of thunder and I ran for their front porch because you’re not supposed to stand under a tree in a thunderstorm and you’re not supposed to stand out in the open either and after a few minutes I decided to quit standing around and just run for my house. And every storm brings down large branches, and sometimes they block the road.

Anyway when I went out later I left my mental note at home so I went in the direction of where I’d heard the big branch fall earlier. I didn’t see any sign of it, though. Maybe it had happened somewhere else, or maybe it had already been moved. There’s another advantage of living in a neighborhood with a lot of trees: almost everybody has a chainsaw or knows someone with a chainsaw and any large branch that comes down gets moved pretty quickly.

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6 Comments

  1. Allison

    Our house was built in 1930, and for the longest time, we had no outlet in my bathroom – so, no hairdryer, no electric hair clippers for the mister. Now I have one in there – my husband installed it. I still have nothing in it.

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      I guess it’s nice to have an outlet even if you don’t need it. Now I’m wondering, though: if you plug something into an outlet does it become an inlet?

      Reply
  2. Ritish Sharma

    This reminds of the walk I used to take on my Grandma’s neighborhood with all the big trees around. And there is one such walk in rain and the thunder just shouted so loud that I had to run back home there.

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      It’s a lucky thing you were close enough to you home that you could run back safely. It’s a terrible thing to be caught out in bad weather.

      Reply
  3. ANN J KOPLOW

    No matter what the weather is, Chris, it feels safe in here.

    Reply
    1. Christopher Waldrop (Post author)

      I’m glad you’re always here to help me make it through the storm.

      Reply

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