Serve by Design

Many in our area have been recovering from storms that raged through numerous communities last week. Straight-line and even tornadic winds unleashed destruction with a force ranging from 80-120 mph. This powerful act of nature yanked down soft silver maple tree branches upon houses and properties as it severed power poles at their bases like they were toothpicks. The damage was random, but extensive. Many homes lost power for hours, days and now, over a week! We fared much better than many. Our power was only off for a few hours. We lost two large twelve to fifteen-foot limbs. One came resting upon our six-foot fence and the other sailed right for our picnic table denting the tabletop and shoving it into the side of the garage. There was only minimal damage to the table support, a nearby downspout, and the westside soffit. We were lucky. Some of our neighbors reported that large branches had penetrated their roofs like a spear! I have some mature trees that shed numerous branches thr