Hurricane Ike

We were as prepared as one could be for Hurricane Ike. We lost power early Saturday morning. The wind was blowing and the temperature was cool. We had gasoline in everything that had a tank. The generator was full and the camper was ready to go. Very early in the morning we began hearing the crack of trees- both limbs and trunks. As the winds increased, we heard the very loud "THUD" of full trees being blown over. Entire root balls were plucked from the earth like they were flowers. Mark and I were on the back porch watching the trees sway, expecting them to snap any minute as they trees bent like they were made of rubber. Out of the corner of our eyes we thought we saw movement on the ground at our feet. I think we both dismissed it...the first time! Then we realized it WAS movement! The concrete was moving- wiggling on the ground like jello! The roots of the large red oak next to us were loosening underground. The force of the wind was taking the tree out! I wish I would have turned the camera on video, but I was able to snap a few pictures as the tree toppled down. Our new Chestnut Street motto: ANOTHER HURRICANE, ANOTHER TREE.