Hey Dads! How has your spring been? Warm and sunny or maybe cold and windy? Or maybe dry and super windy? Like, the-neighbours-shed-just-blew-across-the-field-and-the-tree-outside-my-window-just-blew-down windy. The pros say the winds around here reached almost 100km/hr the other day! That’s about as fast as my highway driving…or something approximately close.
Do you remember the Dust Bowl back in the 30’s? Me neither. But I hear it was quite windy and dusty! The combination of dry dust and windy wind last week reduced visibility to less than a mile. It was almost like fog but more like fine dusty fog that gets in your eyes and nose and mouth if you look into the wind. How do I know this? Well, I had to go for a little adventure walk with one of the kids to see if it was as windy as it seemed out there.
It was! 5-year-old Mabel held my hand tight lest she blow away. We were strolling around the yard counting how many trees we would have to clean up later and inhaling fine dust into our lungs. I’m no fan of face masks but this could have been an opportunity to wear one. I’m glad I borrowed my brother-in-law’s chainsaw last year and still had it borrowed this year. It will come in handy on tree clean-up day. Little Mabel decided she had enough of this weather and headed back to the house without blowing across the prairies.
The previous dad who lived here did a great job of repairing one of the trees in the yard. I bet you didn’t know you could repair trees. Maybe saying “repair” is a stretch. “Prolong it’s upstanding years” would be a more accurate phrase. The tree I refer to was split down the middle and I’m sure would have come crashing down in this wind if it wasn’t for his clever thinking. I guess at some point he noticed the tree splitting and wrapped a nice thik ratchet strap around it 3 or 4 times to keep it up a few years longer. Well done, previous dad!
Mabel had walked up on the porch behind the house while I wandered over to inspect how that strap was holding up in this wind. There were plenty of creaks and groans but it was still nearly good as new! Suddenly, I heard a giant crack behind me! Another tree came crashing down right between Mabel on the porch and me at the strapped tree. That was close! Thankfully neither Mabel nor I were traumatized, maimed, or killed by the falling tree. My patient wife and a few kids were watching from in the house and saw the near miss. No harm done. Just some more future chainsaw work.
Mabel and I lived to tell the tale but if you’re looking for some advice, I don’t recommend inspecting gale-force wind damage in the middle of the gale-force winds. Like the old wives’ tale says, “Safety first!” Time flies, dad! Make every moment count! Even the windy ones!
Jason Weening cleans up trees with his 10 kids and one patient wife. Check out his book, “Yes, Dear…I’m Watching Them,” on Amazon.