All was calm while I was reading on my screen porch, but getting darker by the minute. It was only 5:15 pm but it seemed as though the sun was going down. Suddenly the sky opened up, rain falling straight down...no wind at the moment, but then.....the wind blew from every direction; mainly and forcefully from the south. I thought it strange and for the first time in my life, I was frightened by a storm! Within mere minutes huge trees were uprooted (I could hear them snapping above the roar), power lines were dangling everywhere, gardens were wiped out, flooding commenced. The beautiful flowers and vegetables I worked so hard to plant and nourish were now broken memories, lying flat everywhere. When the rain subsided my neighbors and I walked the surrounding are to assess the carnage. In the 20 years of years I have lived in my home, I have never seen so many trees lying in a tangled heap.....huge, 100 year old Maples and many more. Of course, with so many trees lying over power lines, the work to restore energy would take hours. Others from the area drove to our site to tell their own stories of homes being crushed by fallen trees. My car was camoflaged by large branches as it rested below my towering Red Maples. Clean-up will take days, if not weeks. However, after all is said and done, no lives were lost, and for that we are all thankful. Needless to say, the landscape is forever changed in my neck of the woods. Written by Sheila Claus of Route 29, Oppenheim, NY
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7-13-08 Uprooted 100 yr old trees on corner of Cline Rd. & Route 29 Oppenheim, NY
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