Sat in my "favorite" spot and watched the castor beans
get ready to snap under the 50-60mph wind gusts...
just like the Thai giant did last year around this time.

They didn't snap but something else did -with a little help!

I have climbed this tree every spring(but this one)to try and remove a limb that blocks 5 hrs of sunlight.

Just to big a limb,to small a ladder or to small a chainsaw-take your pic-not to mention it possibly falling on the pine tree near it!

Storm took care of all of it-

I don't think the wind or lightning by thenselves
would have done it-the lightning hit it as the winds were gusting and it went down quitely....
unless you are a pine tree.

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Smashed pine tree

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Pine was snapped above the ground and still has a few surviving branches-

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You can see the burnt tip of the branch-I was about 60' away-watching on the porch(shocked)

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I was just thiking that I really do need to get to that branch this year-as I added up the max sunlight for any spot in the front yard....

6 hrs was it-this will add 4-5 hrs....looking east...

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The east bed with the T.ferns will get double the light as half the canopy is gone.

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You can see the sun already hitting the Y.Gloriosa before 8am-it used to be almost noon!

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Heres what the Castors etc looked like after the winds backed off-this was a non linear event with the winds gusting repeatedly over 50/60mph
instead of at the lead edge like/of a bow segment.

This is what they looked like AFTER the wind!

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I spent about an hour last night bracing and bending them back into shape...they will more than live to fight another day!.....looks like Wens(dead)

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