So the Tree Fell

If you are on my facebook page, I know a few of you are, you know that a tree fell on my house on July 23rd. I never thought to come on here because I was in that "stress mode" where you don't know what you are going to do but you know you need help doing it. Michelle and I were home alone since it was a Thursday and Phil was working. A large oak in the back yard fell right on top of my bedroom, actually right over my head because I was sitting on my bed, playing with the mandolin. I knew a tree had hit the house but I didn't know where since it hadn't come through the ceiling. I just ran out in the livingroom screaming for Michelle and she ran up to me telling me she was there and fine. However, three of the dogs were in the back yard and I went to the window and saw all three of them but also saw the tree...or two trees as it turned out. There had always been a dead pine tree wrapped up in this oak but the oak was sturdy and not leaning any way so there was no reason it should have fallen except that trees just can't make good roots in this clay soil. This tree had no tap root and only had roots about 3 ft from the base (I know because it uprooted completely).

I called Phil. Michelle put it on facebook and scared an aunt who called my ex, Michelle's dad, who came racing over to find we were both fine. He left.
Phil called my brother who thought he knew someone with a chainsaw but the guy was still at work.
Meanwhile, our new little Jack Russell terrier and Echo our little black mixed dachshund, ran out of the broken fence in the back yard. The Jack Russell, Suzie, got away but Michelle caught Echo and brought her back.
While we were waiting for Phil the tree was steadily sliding into the roof more.

Phil showed up and I sent him back in my car to the store with a credit card to get a chain saw. Right after he got back with it, my brother showed up and before we even got the chainsaw started my brother's friend showed up- two more guys and another chainsaw.
So started the figuring on how to best get the tree off the roof. All 4 of the guys had worked logging or cutting trees before but none had ever cut one off a roof. It was decided that all branches that could be cut off without making the tree roll, had to be cut off to lighten the weight and keep it from sinking into the house more. They started with the lower branches in the first picture and then cut the top branches of the tree. I made Phil cut my fig tree down because the top branches were all mixed up in it and it was too dangerous to try to cut around the fig tree branches to get to the oak top branches. The fig tree will come back from the stump, they always do.
There was lots of brush, we had to pull out of their way...I haven't hauled brush since I was a kid..

They finally got all the top cut off and they took a chance and cut the bottom, and it rolled nicely off the roof...onto the fence...but sometimes you have to sacrifice things cause it is just too much work in 100 degree weather to worry about anything but getting the tree off the roof.

It looks bad but the only place where it came through the ceiling was in the closet. (My pond is under there though...somewhere). The stump stood right back up but somehow blew the chickens out of the way first.

Suzie came back just as the guys finished with the chainsaws. That was pretty wonderful since she had been gone 5 hours and I thought she was lost forever. She was completely wet so had been down to the lake swimming and she was scratched up a bit but otherwise fine.
Phil got up on the roof and tarped over it that night. He took the next day off and spent two days just cutting up the wood and getting it out of the back yard. He put some of the wood pieces upright in the spot where the fence is broken so we could still let the dogs out in the back yard without them getting out, until we can fix the fence. We bought wood and got wood from a friend (we had shingles and the friend had a few bundles too-different colors but who cares?) and Phil got up on the roof the third day and got the new wood put on and shingled.
You can see in the picture of the wood cut up where my duck house is behind it. That is no longer a pen with ducks in it but had my meat birds in it. The door on that pen had broken right off and the Buckeye rooster that were loose in the yard were basically going in and harassing the meat birds until the night before last one meat bird came out and got stuck in my little pond (which hadn't been totally cleaned out yet). I went out to save it and, of course, it splashed water all over me and tried to beat me to death with its wings....anyway, Phil got out there yesterday and made me a new door and pushed the house back up to the fencing and I was able to get out there last night and get the Buckeye roosters out of the meat bird pen again.
So, anyway, it was a long, rather horrible adventure, that none of us would like to repeat but we got it done with the help of family and friends and didn't have to hire anyone to do anything. Someone asked me had we "hired" someone to fix the roof yet...they don't know us too well apparently.