Does the Wind Blow in Kansas

So I do realize that I live in Kansas, but last Wednesday and Thursday it was crazy windy around here, with the wind blowin' 30mph most of the time and gusting up to 40mph. When you walk outside you are instantly covered in a layer of dirt, and your hair doesn't even come close to stayin' in place. I seriously don't know how all my Western Kansas friends do it out there. It is way too windy and there are far too little trees. For a 'tree hugger' like me that's not good.

Anyways because of this crazy wind last week, Caleb's folks woke up to find this out by their driveway. Calvin (Caleb's dad) noticed back last summer their huge old elm tree had a big 'ol crack goin' strait down the middle. My sister suggested wrap a big ol' log chain around it to try and hold it together, but by this point the crack had gotten so big that we thought it was a lost cause and thought it would be better to just move everything out from under the tree and not to park anything around it either. Just wait for a strong southern' wind to come blow it down and last Thursday night that's just what happened.

When the top went tumbling down it took a big ol' branch off on its way to the ground.

This branch probably had a 10-12 inch diameter.

The main part of the tree was hollowed out pretty good, so it's not really a surprise that the top fell off.

The force of a falling tree always amazes me. It can jam branches quiet a ways down into the ground.

Caleb was pretty sad about the loss of this tree, cause it was a favorite to climb in, and it use to be home to his old tree house...

...and a tree swing.

Just look at those big flat branches, they would have been so great climb all over as a child!

No one and nothing was hurt when it fell, but now we have one huge mess to clean up.