a strong wind

Monday, we had a very gusty, strong wind almost all day. I went out at noon and discovered the flowering plum tree in the front yard had blown over. It was not uprooted or broken, but was leaning almost on the ground. While I was trying to pull it back up and get the wire that was supposed to be hold it up back around the tree, neighbors came to my rescue. It's too bad no one had a video camera. We must have looked hilarious - three women trying to keep one tree upright. Luckily, Harry, who lives a couple of doors down, came out to help. He brought a new stake which he pounded into the ground, further from the tree, and good strong rope. We managed to get the tree back up and secured. So far, it has stayed up. I've trimmed a lot off of branches over the summer, but obviously not enough. I swear the darn thing grew another 3 feet upwards after the last trimming! I'll cut it back some more this fall, but not until the leaves are off. You'd think that a tree that is at least 4 years old would manage to stay upright. I guess it has very shallow roots. One of these days, I fear it will just break off, or uproot completely. I'll probably have to replace it. The next tree will be something with good strong roots!