Well this is some Groundhog’s Day gift!

Nobody was harmed, especially the house. We did hear it snap and fall. I wish it were a juniper tree, those are the real cause of “cedar fever.” When I got some time, I took my chainsaw to it so this would be less trouble after we thaw out. Jennifer pointed out how lucky we were on the major branch not taking out a power line.

Matters were better by the afternoon as huge chunks of ice started falling everywhere. The misting rain accelerated it. Over a quarter million people remain without power in pockets around Austin. Many were starting to blame ERCOT which was incorrect. There wasn’t an issue of no power, it was a local failure of imagination on this much icing. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ll be discover how much the city and county’s landscaping budget was cut in a few months; for pruning trees they have domain over. The ones on our property, that’s on us but they’re not near the house except a crepe myrtle, the skinny bush we treat as a tree, the Gilligan of forests!

Contractors were already on the make to score some easier money cutting up the fallen trees while they could. I’m confident many used to be “roofers” and “small car-dent repair specialists” when we had the incredible hail storm over a decade ago. The beauty of how swell Texas Deregulation works, giving no recourse to the victims at every level! Somebody already shared a story about an employee accidentally having a chainsaw go through their thigh. Just hearing it made me swallow a little puke. Yeah, my grandma was right, I have a weak stomach unlike Bob Woodward.

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