Flashback Friday — Storm of the Century

Flashback two years to the buildup to Superstorm Sandy. As it barreled toward us in the tri-state area, the newscasters had a bit of fun with her name. She was the Superstorm, The Frankenstorm, and then, finally, just Sandy — clever moniker no longer needed in the wake of the devastation she leveled on the East Coast.

In the days before she hit, we dutifully checked batteries, stocked up on nonperishables, charged our phones, then collectively held our breath.

Her arrival was loud, brash and memorable. The sound of the wind howling its way down Halsey Drive was unlike anything we’d ever heard before. The three of us tried to put on brave faces, fork our way through dinner, but it really did sound as though a freight train was bearing down on us.

Morning brought scenes like this:

Five days later, this is still the scene on the front lawn of the house next door to us. How lucky they are that the tree managed to miss their house and cars.

The back yard. This is the ass end of our neighbor’s tree, upended during the storm. It managed to avoid hitting their house, but left a huge crater in the lawn. Basil was thinking we should install a hot tub there. Instead, we have a whole new look for our back yard two years later.

The wind remained so fierce throughout the night, we never heard the second tree pictured above fall. We were terribly lucky to get off so easy.

Two years later, there’s a new normal for the neighborhood landscape. Folks are ready to mark Halloween and except for some rain this week, the weather has been pretty good.

Given the number of trees we lost, you’d think there would be fewer leaves to rake each year.

Somehow, though, the lawn is covered.