@CalamityJane,
We lost power {and everything else} for a few days, but all is fine now. We were lucky that it wasn't really all that cold, it dipped into the teens two of the nights, but inside the lowest at my house was 39 or so. We went and stayed with my mom, she had a small propane heater, and I hung plastic to seal off the front room...was a toasty 60 in there.
Yeah my tree....I think it will make it....more superficial damage than anything, no damage to the "heart" at least. That is my favorite tree, I climbed in it when I was a kid, I have read many books and have written quite a bit as well sitting under it. Every fall I try to catch it during it's peak days, and get a few pictures, but for the last several years I have missed it. Last fall {a few months ago} I was simply too busy, I have no idea what it even looked like...but before that, the week that it peaked, we would also get really high winds, so the tree was really spotty looking. In the picture that I posted, it had lost quite a few leaves already, but that is the best one I have.
My aunt ran into it a few years ago, and she and my mom tried to hide the damage from me by piling stuff in front of it, which I noticed but didn't think too much about. The damage was slight, and I probably wouldn't have even seen the small scuff....but they were being extra nice to me, after a few days it finally clicked that they had done something to my tree....but when I looked...no harm done. They both have a long history of trying to help me out, or make things easier on me....but end up destroying whatever it is they attempt to "fix"...so there is a standing rule that they are not allowed to touch any of the trees in any sort of way...I really don't even trust them raking leaves.
If that sounds kinda mean, as an example...the last time they raked {and burned} leaves, when I drove into the back yard I saw them walking around with my brand new plastic rake lit up like a triple sized menorah.
