Good morning, Bill. That's great that you got through the storm unscathed! I was wondering about you and Carl. You both are the closest to where the storm made landfall, right?

We were very fortunate here too! We did have a couple of hours of wind that was strong enough that we were cringing looking out the window, waiting for a tree to come down, but not even branches are down in our neighborhood. We had much more damage last year, but I think that was the weight of the ice and not the wind. No power loss here. And not a lot of rain either. Once the news was reporting landfall of the storm, we saw a noticeable reduction in wind. So it's back to business today. I'm very relieved!

I feel bad for everyone in Manhattan. They are less than 200 feet above sea level and the storm surge has certainly caused major headaches. I was horrified this morning to see they had a fire that has ruined 50 homes already. What a mess! I don't think they are used to taking a direct hit either.

I hope everyone else on the forum has been as fortunate! We made a good effort to be more prepared for this storm than we were last year, and it has not been a waste, because now I am more prepared for the next one. This was just a trial run. I'm sure we will be in the direct path of some future Hurricane. That's just New England.

Okay here in CT. I just posted to the other thread. Glad to hear that you, Bill, and PM2 are safe and relatively unscathed. Many others did not fare as well as we all did.

Some really scary moments last night, not much sleep, a few large limbs down, but not as much rain as expected so sump pump is fine, and amazingly, no power outage for me, though I think I am in the minority in my area.

People by the shore really got hit, though, it seems. It seems there were a lot of fires too, many of which firefighters could not get to in the middle of the storm.

I hope everyone is safe here. I too have been thinking of Carl in particular and will rest easier when he can check in with us.

Dee

We were very lucky - had a large tree come down across our street - no damage to anything - just a big cleanup for the city. I have a large dahlia that was tied to a trellis blow over...hoping the stalk is not broken as we haven't had a real frost here yet. The real pain was that the rapid transit shut down at 2:00PM forcing people who rely on it to suddenly have to leave early! Hope that is not a taste of how they plan to handle the snow when it comes.

Helen in Malden, MA

Everything's fine here in Plymouth, MA. It was basically another nasty nor'easter which we unfortunately are used to here on the east coast. I'm very grateful for that.

I just got an email from extended family in Norway - they were following the storm news from there and were worried about me. News travels fast and far, and the internet makes it very easy to check in.

Claire

I am fine here north of Boston. Did not lose power except for a few minutes here and there, which amazes me. We always lose power in recent years.

But I'm really worried about all my family in the NYC area. I can't reach any of them via phone or email, including a cousin in Manhattan and my 97-year-old aunt in assisted living not too far from Breezy Point.

Ann,
Actually I'm not anywhere near where it made landfall. I'm here in Providence, RI and of course it made landfall at the far southern end of New Jersey which is about 260 miles straight line away from here. So far it seems like most of the New England folks did OK overall. It could have been MUCH worse for us here.

{{gwi:5901}}

I am down on the south coast, in South Dartmouth MA. We had the strongest winds I have ever experienced here in 15 years. The period of strongest winds was 3-5 PM yesterday. Numerous large trees down in my immediate area, including a large oak in my backyard that was snapped in half-mid trunk. Not sure what the peak gusts were, but based on reports from the RI coast, Buzzards Bay, and parts of the Cape they were probably in the 70-80 mph range. Parts of town did have some flooding due to the storm surge, both yesterday morning and last evening at the time of high tide.

No significant issues here in central NH. Some good wind gusts brought down trees onto power lines in 20-30 places in my town, but schools are open today and my household didn't lose power at any point. The Merrimack River is spring flood height right now, though I've seen it 3 feet or so higher. I'm not sure if it will continue to rise or not.

I've been keeping those of you in coastal areas in particular in my thoughts.

Checking in from Lexington, MA. We lost power about 1 pm yesterday. Heard there were a lot of outages in Lexington. Surprisingly we got power back later in the afternoon in the midst of the worst part of the storm.

Which was really good because though I was prepared in other ways, I was pushing my luck trying to catch up with the laundry which didn't get done over the weekend because of the storm preparations. I was in the midst of drying my last load when the power went out. Power back on - dry clothes - nice!

We have a Beech and Dogwood outside our sliding glass door which still had lots of leaves on plus we know the Beech has some health problems. It was pretty scary watching them get blown around in the wind - the Beech was even making this really eerie noise. But except for lots and lots of branches and twigs down everything looks fine today.

This morning I went into Boston - drove to Alewife and then took the T. It actually took me less time than usual (after getting a heads up from my hubby about where the big trees were in the road) and the part of Boston I was in looked fine.

It's good to hear most of you have fared pretty well. Wondering about how Carl in NJ too.

Now to take out some of the potted plants I secured under tables, in alcoves and in the garage....

Everything is fine here in MetroWest. We never lost power. Have lots of tree limbs down, but nothing too large, and no damage.

School was canceled again today. Though the schools had power, there were enough down trees causing roads to be closed that the school buses would not be able to make their rounds. But school is back on tomorrow. YAY!!! That makes me very happy!

The Worcester area is fine also. Despite high wind gusts the power stayed on for us the entire time. Nothing damaged outside. I did have one shrub (newly planted about two weeks ago) start to come out of the ground. I ran outside and put some muddy soil around it and packed it in good. Seems fine today. We did get 2.5 inches of rain that lasted the entire day on Monday. Great for getting the trees and shrubs ready for winter.

Steve

Glad to see people checking in and knowing that so far everyone seems to be okay. I guess we can only assume that those we haven't heard from don't have power and are busy with more important things than posting to GW! Thought it sure would be nice to hear from them anyway, lol.

Pixie Lou - Metro West... is that outside of Boston?

Even though we didn't have near the damage that the shoreline areas did, I was going to my other job for the first time today since last week, and its in a woodsier area. Wow, lots of road closures and downed trees (and downed wires). It made me realize how really lucky I am to not have a tree on my house and to have power.

Dee

I am near Pixie Lou in "metro-west" Boston - T. S. Sandy was not quite as windy as T. S. Irene last year, but it was pretty windy for awhile, and now there are lots of sticks and leaves to pick up. Also, half my wood trellis blew over, and I'm bummed about that.

We lost our power for 12 hours, which is the longest I've experienced here in 10 years. Didn't even lose power during Irene or the October snowstorm!

Then, I drove down the street yesterday and figured out this is probably why we lost power for so long. This tree came down right on the wires on the left hand side of the street.

Well I'm glad that I started this thread and that we've heard from so many of you, and that we are all pretty much unscathed! We were pretty lucky here in New England.

{{gwi:5901}}

I didn't have any damage but saw plenty of trees down on the side of the road the other morning. We lost power for about 18 hours...some friends and co-workers either just got it back or are still waiting.
So true Bill, we were indeed lucky this time!

Hi, All

I'm glad people on this post seem to fair the storm pretty well.

I have power back back now but no internet yet. I'm using my mom's right now.

We were the trouble maker on our street when one of the wires running between our house and the utility pole across the street fell.

The police had to come out and shut down our street.

Otherwise, nothing but lots of fallen branches and debris. Also, my school closed down for the week.

Hope everyone's up and running at 100% soon!

-Tina

We fared very well here in Vermont. Our power flickered a few times, but stayed on, and there was no significant flooding or damage from the wind. We were lucky. Poor NYC and NJ got the brunt of the storm it seems.

I'm glad to see many others on this forum came through relatively unscathed, and hope those not heard from are also ok.

Sunday morning here in West Haven. Our neighborhood still has no power, telephone or Internet service. For those families on out two streets there is anger because we are only about 1 mile from United Illuminating's corporate office and maintenance depot!! It's annoying to see those trucks roll off to elsewhere. But like many of our neighbors, we have a generator. After the storm this street was visited by Government officials and the three downed telephone poles have been replaced. Now we're waiting for the power company.

I feel for our neighbors in NY, NJ and along the CT coastline who lost everything-- or close to it. So, putting this in perspective, we are all safe and fine. Wish we could help our neighbors.

Molie

Hi all. I heard from Carl today and he is safe and his house is intact. He has a mess in the garden, but otherwise is well. Thank goodness.

Just thought I'd pass that along!
Dee

Thanks, Dee! I was worried about him, as the news about N.J. just gets worse and worse.

Claire

Today we we to IKEA in New Haven where there was a massive storm collection and fund raiser sponsored by NBC CT , Red Cross and the food pantry. (I think there was also an event at West Farms Mall.) People were asked to drop off food, household items and warm clothes/coats. We were pleased to see that it was packed--- took a while to get to the drop off area, but the best thing of all was that when we left there was bumper-to-bumper traffic coming in. Hopefully there will be more of these events in our communities so that those in my state and other really hard hit areas get some of what they'll need --- stuff that most of us take for granted.

Our neighborhood was very grateful that Rosa DeLauro heard about our problems and contacted the utilities--- who then arrived here in caravans. I hope that others in CT, NY, NJ and West Virginia get the same kind of assistance. Though I'm watching the news on my tiny smartphone screen, the scenes are awful! All of us who faced just minor damage or unconviences are so lucky.

Molie

Greetings. . .

Just coming up for air, after getting my power back yesterday - and just in
time, as the temps hit the freeze mark last night. . .so many others here in
town and across the state aren't as lucky. Horrendous mess in the gardens, but it can be cleaned up. . .finally lost the 20-year-old Callery pear tree - are we surprised? - it split right down the middle, just as we have all been warned! My small town has always been part of "Tree City, USA", but I'm sure we'll lose that designation now: at last count, well over a hundred trees have been uprooted, or snapped like toothpicks. . .a couple of the massive, 100+ year-old trees actually sliced three-story houses in half. . .it ain't pretty here!

Thanks for all the expressions of concern from the NE Forum. . .but, surely,
you KNEW a true Yankee would survive! Gotta run now and get back to
feeding dozens of people - I've become "Mr. Meals-On-Wheels" around
town. . .

Carl

Glad to hear your back in business, Carl. I hope everyone else gets power back before it gets any colder. Sorry to hear about your Pear tree, but, you're right, it seems to be a consistent expectation with that tree. I hope you will at least get some good firewood out of it. It is sad to lose so many older trees. They are irreplaceable.

I was thinking of you when I was making dinner last night Carl, and wondering what are you cooking up for all those people? It's nice to know there are people out there helping so cheerfully in a crisis.

I just got an email from RareFind Nursery which was out of power for a while due to Sandy. They have a sale "25% Off Nursery Pick Up Orders - On plant orders of $100.00 worth of plants." which could be useful for someone in NJ (or New York state) who needs plants and can pick them up there. They have nice stock.

Claire
------------------------------------------------------------

"

RareFind Nursery - Latest Storm

The latest storm to hit New Jersey, on November 7th, resulted in approximately 10 inches of heavy snow here at the nursery. The result was another 3 days without electricity - Wednesday night through Saturday - and some significant tree damage. However, we have cleared the pathways and are now waiting for a tree service to remove the 'hangers' so it is safe to work in the back of the nursery. The primary retail portions of the nursery (the hoop houses, Lexan house and office) were not significantly impacted, so we can start picking orders today.

Again, we apologize if you could not reach us but our phones and Internet were out and we are just now catching up. Today is the first time we have been able to get everyone safely to the nursery and we should be completely caught up by the end of today. We will resume shipping today.

We appreciate your consideration and hope you were not inconvenienced too much. Remember, we are still running our:

Free Shipping Sale
- On plant orders of $100.00 worth of plants, you do not pay our regular shipping charge of 25%.

25% Off Nursery Pick Up Orders
- On plant orders of $100.00 worth of plants.

All plant orders must be shipped or picked up no later that December 15th and this promotion cannot be combined with any other offered by RareFind Nursery.

Questions: Call 732-833-0613
Or email us: support@rarefindnursery.com
...
RareFind Nursery Inc.
957 Patterson Road, Jackson, NJ 08527"