waste

m and i just realized this morning that the city will haul away "storm debris" if it's out by the curb before april 30th (that would be tomorrow). so we got to work dragging all the branches and brush that the storm tossed into our yard. the saddest part of all was coming to terms with the fact that our two aged lilacs are pretty much completely destroyed, just crushed by the 100 foot pine tree which fell on them. we're trying to salvage part of one of them, a sad skinny trunk leaning over to one side, but we cut up and hauled many, many budding lilac branches out to the street. i don't know how old they were, but they're pretty huge, with very thick trunks all twisted together, and they were the prettiest things in our yard.

the resulting pile of "storm debris," which can't be hanging into the street or covering the sidewalk, is kind of beautiful, like a natural wood fence or a long sculpture of some kind.

the really good part is that we are not only full of cleanup energy and ready to really tidy up our yard, once and for all, but that the insurance company is sending us some money for "cleanup," with which we can finally rent the dumpster we've been dreaming of! i am so much in the mood to throw things away...