Wind Damage

The autumn olive saga continues with even more tragedy.

While the winter has not been brutal, we have had a few days of crazy winds and one horribly destructive ice storm.

We lost our only climbing tree.

I thought that this was the extent of the damage…until I saw the fedge.

Our two surviving autumn olives had been viciously attacked by ice and wind. One was nothing more than a pile of sticks. The other was bent and looks about ready to snap at the base.

Spring and pruning may save them, but I have little hope. We have most likely lost them both.

The base of the plant is almost ready to snap. We’ll prune and cut away some dead branches in the hope we can save it.

The other one is beyond hope. It’s a pile of sticks we’ll use for kindling.

I’m crushed. Four years of growth obliterated by an ice storm and raging wind.

We had finally picked fruit from them and now we have to start all over.

And yet…we’ve learned that no matter how much you plan, how much you protect and how much you nurture…sometimes things just don’t work out.

So, rather than wallowing in disappointment and self-pity, you cut out the damage and start all over again armed with the lessons you’ve learned.

After boo-hooing for a few minutes, I mapped out the fedge, took a few notes and ordered two more autumn olives.

Take that brutal wind!
Take that cold and heartless ice!
The fedge will live on!