Trees taken by Ike

The morning after Hurricane Ike swept across Houston, we tentatively ventured outside to see what damage had been wrought by the strong winds of this storm. We were very fortunate to only lose electrical power for nearly one week -- no damage to our home (at least that we have spied). We once had a large stately Water Oak tree in front of our home -- but since it was "overly mature" and had begun to randomly drop heavy limbs (no winds, no rain, just limbs falling to the ground), we made the difficult decision to have the tree taken down this summer. There is no telling what Ike may have done with our old Oak tree ... if given the chance.

The photo above shows a sister to our Water Oak. The dramatic view of limbs blown down by Hurricane Ike is repeated throughout our neighborhood.
Below is another photo of a tree blown over by Ike's storm. Isn't it odd how the St. Augustine grass came up with the tree and roots?

These photos are common images seen not only in our neighborhood but all along the path that Hurricane Ike traveled. We are fortunate that so many of these trees came down into streets and yards, rather than on top of houses and cars. However there are many with have roof damage and other casualties from the havoc wreaked by Ike. May they all find the means to recover from the extensive damages suffered.

In many ways, not having electricity was a blessing -- we had no television or cable to see the many horrific images broadcast on television in those first few days after the storm. There were many images in the Houston Chronicle, our newspaper, which resumed publication one day after the storm.

My friend Mary Ann captures the feeling of life-post-Ike accurately in her blog. Please click here to learn more about life after Ike. Although without electricity for several days, we discovered friends who had power within hours after Ike blew past. Friends and neighbors have all been generous in looking out for one another. A cool front also came to town when we needed it most. What a welcome sight it was to wander by local restaurants and grocery stores and discover that they were open again! When our electricity was restored, our neighbors across the street were not as lucky, so immediately we filled our empty freezer with containers of water -- making ice to share as the weather began to warm up again. There are still several homes across the city without power -- it is an odd hit-or-miss situation. The schools are in a similar situation. Tomorrow, some of the public schools in HISD will reopen their doors for the first time since Sept. 12, but alas our elementary school is not. It is listed as "pending" ... perhaps we will reopen on Thursday .....