Who We Are

Thursday, July 16, 2009

storm Damage

Ha roo, pups and kit-cats! It's me - Zim! Over the weekend, we got pounded by another big storm. This one had really high winds and did a lot of damage to some of the trees here at Ao4 HQs. Mom and Dad spent most of Tuesday with saws and pruning tools taking out the damaged limbs. I thought I'd show you what all they did.

These first four shots are off Mom's iPhone. This is ...uh... was the Smoke Tree:

We lost the whole thing. Well, maybe not the whole thing; Mom and Dad left some of the young sproutlings that come up and we'll see what they do.

Here's a look at what they piled onto that tier from the other direction.

We lost part of the King's Choice Elm, too. Dad said that's a VERY hard wood. Did I mention they didn't use any power tools in the take-down? And that the heat index was 112 degrees Fahrenheit according to AccuWeather? (That's 44.44 degrees Celsius, for our international readers!) You wouldn't believe how exhausting it was for us, watching out the windows from within the air-conditioned confines of the house. Whew, those two bipeds just exhausted us!

Here's some more of the Elm, piled on the upper tier.

They also had to take some limbs off the Purple Ash. Here's a look at those:

The rest of the fun that day was lugging all of that up the hill to the driveway, where Dad could process it. (You can see the hill behind Ammy in the pix at this link.)

After they brought them up, we had to go check it all out.

Wowzers! Check it out, Ammy!

I tried telling her it was Storm damage, but she's too quick to fall for that.

Hee hee hee! Oh, Zimmie! It's storm damage, not Storm damage! Hee hee hee!

Dave and Storms took a look, too.

Woo, Storm! Did you really do all this?
Dave, Dave, Dave. Didn't the redheads already go over this?

Dave's slightly more gullible than Amber. Ha roo!

That was quite the full day's work. Dad's plan was to tackle it early the next day, cutting it into smaller, more manageable pieces. He started cutting away, so he could put it in the back of the RAV4 and haul it all to our county transfer station. They have a great program where they take people's tree limbs and chop it up into mulch for other people to use in their gardens! (Unlike Mom and Dad, I think they actually use power tools for their part of the job...!)

Storm said someone should really keep an eye on Dad. Unfortunately, we couldn't see him very well from the front windows - the angle isn't right - so I had to outsource. I have lots of pals in the neighborhood, and I knew I could count on one of them for help.

Who should I call on for this one? Hmm...

I thought on it for a while, then sent a mind meld out to a friend of mine. I needed to choose someone who can stand the heat much better than we can... who doesn't have a double coat on... someone who would blend in, not be obtrusive, and help keep Dad company. Someone who would be happy to jump on this. (No, not Oswald - he's busy eating all the foliage in the neighborhood, according to Mom.) The choice was clear to me. I called on my friend Taras. Taras Toada. He's a wild, brave guy just like that Cossack he was named for. Here he is:

Taras Toada 1

Can you see him in there? Here's a better look:

Taras Toada 2
Taras Toada

I knew if anyone could hop right on this, it was Taras!

Dad got it all dealt with, so Taras must have done a great job. Dad even moved Taras down to a safer part of the yard when he was done; I'm sure that means Dad appreciated his help! Thanks, Taras! And great job, Dad! Another job at Ao4 HQs well done!

Play bows,
Zim

29 comments:

  1. Whoa there AO4 -

    Naptime!

    Woo SOOOO ovfur worked yourselves!

    Sorry fur your forest losses -

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra

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  2. The bipeds were lucky to have you and Taras around. We know from experience that they need regular paws on supervision.

    Roxie, Sammy & Andy

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  3. That is an awful lot of work to have to do in the heat we have had. And such a loss of trees. We missed all of that here - so sorry to see all that happened.

    woo, the OP Pack

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  4. OMDog! I'm so sorry you lost all those lovely trees, but I'm glad nothinI gotsa admit that I thought for one split second (ok ok... more than a couple of seconds) that stormy did all of this!

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  5. It IS really hard work to sit inside in the air conditioning and watch people work. I'm glad you paced yourself!

    Sorry to see all those trees you lost, though.

    *kissey face*
    -Fiona

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  6. Sorry about the trees - they take so long to grow and it was sad to see them all lying in your garden!
    That would have been very hard work for everydoggie and everybody to clear up.
    Cool toad!!!
    The Open is at Turnberry which is not that far away - less than an hour in the car however our Dad assures us that they do not allow dogs in!
    Well of course we told him that if we explained just who we were they would let us in and then you could get to see us on the TV!!!
    love and kisses
    The Basset Babes xxxxx

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  7. Hope your dat cuts the tree into lots of exciting sticks to play with or stumps to sit on

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  8. Anonymous1:39 PM

    Wow that is alot of work your parents did... and alot of tree damage! The frog is cool... Do you think it needs a pup to play with?
    PW,
    CM

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  9. Wow, Storm, we'd hate to see you when you're really worked up!

    Okay, we're kidding. We know it wasn't Storm, it was storm damage.

    Sorry about getting you worked up so Storm had to stop you from saying a bad word, Zim. We had the same response here. Some humans have no sense of humor! Anyone else receiving a host of Twitters, Facebooks, and emails about a cat's birthday would have responded. But not Anderson Cooper.

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  10. wow thats alot of damage - good thing your family and house are okay - you guys look like you did an great job of supervising

    hope the saplings take root abd survive

    woodrow sweetie mj

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  11. You sure got a lot of storm damage but we're glad that you all are okay. We hope Storm didn't get too scared from the storm. Good job on snoopervising your beans while they worked out in the heat and very clever getting Taras Toadas to watch your dad in the front of the house.

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  12. A lot of damage but thankfully you all are safe!

    Princess Eva

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  13. Taras is kinda cute for a toad, our human has a thing for frogs & toads.

    That was a strong storm you guys had, your poor trees, our human thinks it is very sad that you lost so much of them to the storm. We hope they grow back ok.

    Stay safe you guys!

    Holly & Zac...XX

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  14. Oh so sorry there was so much damage done by the "storm" and that the weather has been so dreadful. Hope it cools off soon - have been hearing the horror stories.
    Hugs xo
    Sammie
    PeeEs - love taras!

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  15. Did the storm come during the daytime or was it at night? If you saw this happening it must have been a little scary!

    We are glad you are all OK and hope the parents had a good supply of liniment!

    Kisses,
    Stella

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  16. Oh, no! Did the trees leave?

    Just for Ammy.

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  17. We are sure glad that dad had a happy little helper. We have a few of Taras siblings in our yard. After dad waters late in the evening they all come out to visit. Of course silly Louie is the first to give them a lick and goes to frothing at the mouth.. We don't think he will ever learn..


    Big Sloppy Kisses
    Gus, Louie and Callie

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  18. I'm just glad nopup was injured, or your mum or dad. Nice of the toad to help out! Maybe he should come to my place and help with our garden.

    Actually Zim, if you want to come over, we are having a new deck built!

    Huffle Mawson

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  19. Hi, friends!
    Looks like it was a big storm!
    I am sure everything is under control now!
    Kisses and hugs
    Lorenza

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  20. We are very sorry to hear you lost some of your trees, that stinks. Mom is not a fan of your hired help, she is scared of frogs and toads. what a weeny!! lol

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  21. I am so glad the hoomans had woo all to help out in this!! Too bad for the trees. I can't imagine how tired woo Sibes were after all that heat and hard work!!! Thanks to the toad!!! Nice way to bring the neighborhood together!

    MBB

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  22. Goodness! Glad that all of you are safe but sorry for your forest loss...

    Head bowing,
    Maxx

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  23. Hey there, Dave, Amber, Stormy and Zim and:

    GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!!
    (Thanks too for visiting my blog)

    Wow, you guys are COOL! - even in the heat!
    And you guys are BRAVE! - even with that storm.
    And you guys ORGANISED! - even in that air conditioned room. We are really impressed!

    I can't believe how you organised a Frog army to deal with all that load. We try an oganised the birds this end, but it takes hours! Well done.
    lotsalicks to you al,
    Maxdog in South AFrica

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  24. Yikes! I'm glad you all are safe and sound!

    Good thing you all were there to supervise!

    Mochi

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  25. Wow! That storm did a lot of damage to all of your pretty trees! What a shame! We're glad you guys are all safe!

    Love ya lots,
    Maggie and Mitch

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  26. That toad looks like more fun than a stuffie!!!

    I'm glad the storms didn't damage the human crate. But poor trees! Mom is sad for you that you lost that beautiful smoke tree, but they always grow back.

    Stay safe!
    Fenway

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  27. What a cute toad! Sorry about the trees, and sorry you had to work so hard! Atleast you are all safe.

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  28. Too much work for me! Sorry bout your trees though, that too bad.
    ~lickies, ludo

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  29. That sure was nice of Mr. Toad to watch the limbs for you. We had a really small frog on Dad's grill the other day. Dad made sure it hopped safely away and Kat didn't eat it. I don't think she was going to eat it, I just think she wanted to lick it and see if it would turn into Thunder.

    Steve

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