Raising the Roof

I had a nasty surprise on my way to the car around 7:00 last night.  Glancing toward the south, I saw the remains of our biggest building on the place.  It was a shed-roofed structure, originally built to house hogs.  For more than 30 years the hogs have been gone.  When we lived on this place earlier,  the building was used to house poultry, especially a closed-off section at the west end.  After we left, a good cleaning made the larger section suitable for use as  a yard-equipment storage garage and workshop, and a storage area.  My nasty surprise involved seeing the building newly and very untidily roofless.

I haven't walked out to look, but Hiromi and our boys left the family cookout last night to move the riding mower, generator, and air compressor out of the area that had formerly been the interior of the building.  The roof had been ripped off by the powerful south wind and tipped up, with much of it caught by the massive old Siberian elm growing at the northeast corner of the building.  Some of it was high in the tree.  If the wind had shifted, that debris would likely have come back down on top of the equipment.

The old sheep barn (an open-sided shed), which was actually the most decrepit building on the place is still standing, apparently saved by the wind being able to pass through "age-related" openings in the sides and roof.

I'm very aware that if we were people of more means and more pride, we would have razed these buildings a long time ago and replaced them with something better.  They have both served a significant purpose beyond their aesthetic and shelter functions, however.  The hog barn/chicken house/garage/ storage area building provided a windbreak from the south for the house and the backyard.  I think it was about 80 feet long and maybe 40 feet wide.  The sheep barn did the same for the garden.  This is a significant service for a property situated where only windswept fields lie to the south, unbroken by trees for several miles in that direction.

I was in the kitchen when the wind hit, and watched from the window as debris blew across the backyard.  Most of it was roofing paper, and I was a little puzzled about where it was coming from.  Since the hog barn has been covered with tin roofing sheets ever since before we lived here, it didn't quite make sense that it was coming from there.  The wind didn't last long and I kept right on preparing food to take to Grant's place for a cookout--a change from the earlier plans to have it here.  Hiromi was at work.  Two window air conditioners were running (the temp reached 100 degrees again), and I did not hear any terrible noises except the noise of the terrible wind.

I was relieved that the wind had gone down and the rain had stopped before I needed to lug the big watermelon and the very heavy picnic basket to the car.  That's when I saw that the hog barn had been damaged.  Knowing there wasn't a thing to do about any of it anyway, I didn't even walk out to look.  I just kept on with getting myself and my food to Grant's place.

I already know that our property wasn't the only one that was harmed.  In the Pleasantview area, Nisly Trash Service, Stutzman Greenhouse, and Center Church all were affected.  Limbs broke off and entire trees did so, in some cases.  The tall new fence dividing Pilgrim School from Stutzmans is wrecked.  I'm sure much more devastation will be evident today.  If there were no injuries, that will be the best part of the news.