The May Derecho windstorm did a lot of damage in Manordale and the surrounding areas. Many large trees came down. Pinhey forest to the south-west will not be the same in my lifetime. Acres of trees came down where the loose sandy soil did not give enough purchase for the trees to withstand the winds. Some parts of the 60+ year-old pine plantations toppled like dominoes one after another. One blow-down just off Woodroffe south of Slack Rd. must be about 20 acres.
The roadside area this blog follows was relatively fortunate; a couple of the large cottonwood poplars came down but otherwise it got off quite lightly. The picture above was a large 100foot high popular that fell length wise along the berm. It damaged several smaller trees as it toppled. I cleaned up the limbs that were hung-up against other trees leaving this long trunk. It will be a barrier and landmark for many years, I imagine, as it is still a few feet off the ground. I also spent several hours going around with a handsaw clearing other smaller standing deadwood in the 1995 woods. The forest really needed a clearing out as the ash trees that fell victim to the emerald ash borers were left standing and only now have finally rotted away enough to be easily pushed over.
