As I was sitting up there cross-legged on the roof, working to untangle and straighten out the icicle lights, I realized that you would probably like to see what it looks like from up there. A few quick iPad photos later, and this is what we have ... going from left to right.
Our house faces east. This is the view toward the north. The leaves are almost all off the trees now, but there are still a surprising number of roses in the Hybrid Tea Garden. Look in the background and you can see the round hay bales that Hartwood Winery next door uses for their fall decoration.
When I tell folks that I live next door to a winery, some of them can't comprehend that I REALLY mean next door ... in country road terms, that is. (Our pasture separates the two driveways) This photo also shows a peek at our across-the-street neighbors' house. It's a lovely early 20th Century farmhouse, which was built when one of the granddaughters of our home's original owner married into the Courtney family down the road.
Our front yard needs a BIG renovation next year. It's vast and empty, and we HAVE to do something about it. The only feature the storms have left us is this large Southern Magnolia tree. Losing our big trees has opened up the whole yard to sunshine, so we have lots of landscaping choices to make ... have to repair the fence, too.
This is where you can REALLY see the devastation. There used to be two huge oak trees, where there are now just piles of wood chips (from the stump grinder). The stack of wood that we saved from the one tree is still sitting in the yard under that brown tarp. Each piece huge and heavy, and we will soon put together a work crew with strong young men, a trailer and a couple of tractors to get it moved to the barn so it can dry.
Here is our view to the south. The white fence holds my Van Fleet Ramblers, and the brown fence is the beginning of the Barbier Rambler Fence. You also get a good look at the top of the bay window in our family room. The 4-sided, 2-story bays are very distinctive feature of our house.
It didn't take very long for me to put up the Christmas lights. This evening, once the sun goes down, I will take a photo and show you what they look like.