Cache Valley Eborns: And Great Was the Fall of It

The home Ryan and Samantha purchased last year is a wonderful home in a convenient location. They have a beautiful, large yard for the children to play in and to keep them busy in spare moments, as though they had a problem with that. It is surrounded by large trees, which provide shade in the summer, making their place very inviting and comfortable, even on the hottest days. These trees are rather old, having been planted many years ago, probably about the time the home was built. Some of these trees are beginning to show signs of their age. One of them was dead when they moved in and had been topped and largely debranched by the previous owners. It stood at the front of the yard. There have been some discussions about how and when would be the best time to remove it. Another nearby tree has a large hole in its trunk about forty feet above ground. That hole provided a cozy nest for a family of raccoons last summer and no doubt will be a sought out spot for some old mother raccoon to give birth to her litter again this year.

Last night, about five thirty Sam and the kids were startled by a sudden thud. Upon checking it out they discovered that the old, dead tree in their front yard had fallen. Apparently with the thawing of the soil around it and the fact that its roots had decayed resulted in the tree simply falling over, all by its self, as Tristan informed me. It fell across their driveway, taking down the nearby electric wire and even the telephone pole to which it had been attached. Fortunately their was no one near by at the time of its fall and no car was parked in its path. Of course, this caused a power outage at the Eborn home on South Fifth Street. Samantha called us and informed us that the tree had fallen and that they were living by candle light until the power company could get the wires back up and the electricity to their home restored. We offered to come and get them or at least to bring down some lanterns, but she said they were fine and were actually kind of excited about their little adventure.

Ryan was away at a baseball tournament in St. George at the time the tree fell. Some of the neighbors came to lend assistance, though not much was really needed beyond making a few phone calls.

This morning I decided to go down and check things out. I had an idea for a picture in mind. Tristan, an axe and the huge fallen tree. That could be a good one. At first Tristan was apprehensive about even going out near the tree. I finally decided to bribe him. I offered to take him to the dollar store. He said he didn't want to go to the dollar store. I said: "How about a dollar, if you come out and let me take your picture." His eyes lit up. He liked that idea. Then he had second thoughts. "How about a dollar and a quarter?" I quickly agreed and we went out for some picture taking before he decided to up the ante on me. Most importantly, we are just grateful that no one was hurt because of this incident. Actually, it will be a positive, because it means a little less travel to get in the winter's wood supply for next winter.

Below are some of the pictures we took.