New Hamphire Ice Storm

In December of 2008 the Monadnock area and much of the state witnessed an incredible ice storm. I have never seen anything like it and I have lived in New England and other northern states for all of my life. The freezing rainy drizzle continued for hour after hour through the night and in the early morning hours I began to hear some branches breaking, and the rain continued. Finally there was a point when almost no tree was safe from the weight and the crumbling of the forest really began. It was like a war zone (not that I have ever been in a war zone so it is an exaggeration) with loud crashes and cracks. Trees were falling all around our house and it was too dangerous to go outside. It was so powerful yet so sad as well. The forest was falling and there was no end in sight. The power was long gone and little did we know at that time that it would be out for two more weeks. We stayed in the house and tried to make a plan because we wanted to get to the gallery to check on things and try to keep it from freezing. The power and our heat were out in Dublin for sure. Many hours later in the afternoon I ventured out to check the road. You couldn't tell it was a road, every tree was bent over and larger trees had fallen across the road. Tree tops and limbs continued to rain down to the ground in dramatic style. We decided we couldn't wait any longer and started to cut our way out. Eventually it got too dark and we had to return home. The next morning we started in again and hours later got the truck out even though we still had to crash through icy limbs. There were branches everywhere and we spent days just beginning the cleanup. Eventually the ice melted off and the trees rebounded a bit but we would still be without power for many days. On Christmas eve our power came back but when we woke up Christmas morning it was out again. There are still branches everywhere and for years we will see the damage and hear the hanging branches coming down. Thousands of people have dramatic stories of this storm and had there yards and land altered.

Something good can come out of it though (other than a lifetime supply of firewood). Put some of that wood and storm debris to good use. I will build you some fun, useful furniture out of your branches and trees. Gather your sticks and your ideas and I will incorporate them into a piece of furniture. Have a nice piece of rustic furniture instead of just another burn pile. The cost is only $20. per hour plus materials. If this is of interest to you then stop by the gallery and speak with me, or call 563-7010. Let's recycle some of that wood into a chair, table, planter, lamp or something else useful. To view some rustic stick furniture visit our website at www.RusticFurnitureGallery.com