Seedmama: My heart goes out to you. It brings back to me our experience with a similarly devastating ice-storm in 1997. Ours was after Christmas, January I think, but your post brought back to me the sound of branches of our particularly large maple crashing down on the house; large chunks of ice crashing on to the roof and ricocheting off on to the driveway; watching the explosions as transformers on the hydro poles went up in flames; and seeing the top of my choice flowering crab fall off into the driveway, just after I had moved the van. It was a nightmare, but we were safe, together, and had a fireplace and a gas barbeque, and those things brought us through. It was over two weeks before power was restored to everyone - we had itermittent power as the Hydro crews removed branches which fell on the power lines across our yard and I used those times to start meals which I could finish on the barbeque. It's amazing how creative we can become if we have to. So hang in there, and try to enjoy Christmas, and leave the cleanup until Spring. We had to because our weather continued to be bad, but it was amazing as soon as the weather began to warm up to see perfect strangers just arriving on your property, cutting up downed trees and stacking the wood for free, and clearing up branches stuck in trees, and downing those which did not straighten up after the ice melted. We all pitched in and helped each other and things went faster than we expected. Maybe your comunity will come together like ours did. But take your time and see what nature has presented: it may be nicer than you think and remember 'this too will pass'. You will feel down sometimes, and that's O.K., because it will pass. Enjoy the holidays with your loved ones and we'll look forward to seeing your new beds in 2008. Northerner.

Honalee - l'm looking forward to seeing your 'forest'. I've thought about making those tomato cage trees for years but so far haven't as I always use the ones I find at yard sales to prop up perennials. Thanks for the smartjane link which I've bookmarked and will look at later. I'm not sure what normal is but it sounds a bit boring so let's avoid it! LOL I actually love winter - the snow is beautiful and there's a respite from gardening. Occasionally I make "a snow angel!" I love decorating inside my house even more than I like decorating my garden and from March to September my house gets little decorating attention. In fact this year I had spring decor on my mantle until fall! The last few months I've been more serious about editing my house so have given away lots of decor accessories and things I no longer need or want. I have 45 years of accumulated "stuff" so there is lots to go thru and many decisions to make. It's an ongoing project but hope to finish by spring. With Christmas coming I've been shopping for gifts and need to wrap and send them, cleaning my house more thoroughly, and will be doing Christmas decorating starting today. It's taken me the last few days to pack away all the fall decor. Other than that I occasionally volunteer, read, 'play' online, talk on the phone and email, occasionally lunch with friends, attend a few social functions, only watch TV a little as there is not much that interests me on the hundred+ channels I get, and shovel snow and haul wood. I've been shoveling the few inches of snow we've gotten onto my perennials which takes more effort but I want them to survive the colder temps to come as I didn't winterize anything this fall. I heat my house mostly with a wood stove so that takes a bit of work. I do have a good and seldom used gas furnace but prefer wood heat. Oh, of course I cook and make almost all meals from scratch which takes time. Occasionally I do crafts, knit, and crochet altho haven't done much recently - have one knitting project on the go and hope to get it finished soon as it's boring me and I want to start something more interesting. I have 4 indoor pets who require care and attention which takes a bit of time. After Christmas things will slow down and I'll spend time planning, and re-planning, my garden. Plan will then go in the trash and the garden will continue to evolve as usual! LOL It's a lot of fun to plan tho and occasionally I discover something I want to implement. There are a few new craft projects I want to start but won't until the new year. I occasionally travel and have a short trip coming up soon so have to prepare for that. I always make to-do lists which helps me finish projects as I love crossing things off the lists! I love days like today when there's nothing scheduled and I can do only what I want. I will start Christmas decorating but will do it at my own pace so I enjoy it. Plan to finish by the weekend. I think most gardeners are probably creative people who do other creative things when they are not gardening.

Tom, I try to avoid being actually IN the sun as much as I can, since I'm always too hot and I've had skin cancer five times. BUT...having said that...having no sunLIGHT is terribly depressing. I'm feeling SAD, myself, even though I know I don't have it to the extent I need treatment for it. But four or five days of unrelenting darkness and grey skies is just too much. I've definitely been feeling depressed. If last night's storm had happened the FIRST night of the rain, it probably wouldn't have upset me nearly as much. I was just outside between showers and looking around more closely, and I think MOST things will survive with some damage pruned off, and some cleaning up. Lots of debris removal will be forthcoming, and there are several plants that I don't think will make it. But the yard won't be as barren as it was after the freeze or anything. And the things that didn't get smashed are going to be really green and happy. It will all end up okay. Just some extra work, and a few replacement plants. Joey still looks like a goner, and I'm seriously worried about my rudbeckia submentosa, which really got flattened. And some of my coleus got broken back to ground level. Those will sprout again, I'm sure. But Joey and the rudbeckia...well, we'll see. I just can't wait to see a brighter sky. When I was younger, I used to love rainy days and living in the northwest was very appealing. I don't think I could do it now, either. I need me some SUNLIGHT!!!!! *Tom and Marcia, doing the Sunshine Superman dance, here* Marcia

Thank you everyone for the well wishes. Yes, nothing really to complain about as no lasting damage in my garden. The tomatoes will taste wonderful and that is only the begining of tomato season. Lots more to come. The plants will be fine. I went and cut off any broken branches on them and they are already picking up. Jean and everyone. That was a very old historic structure in the park. There is already a newer bigger one that they use as the bandstand for the summer concerts but the old one is part of our history. Sad to see it crashed. I could always see the water from my front porch, better in winter with the leaves down than in the summer. But with the two trees dopwn that went down I am amazed at my new view. Clear down to the water straight thru the park with no obstructions. I just sat out on my porch and watched all the cleanup and goings on.