We made it through the storm with no damage to the house. Our fence looks a bit exhausted from the hours of menacing wind, but we should be able to get it back upright without too much effort. Our neighborhood park had a couple of trees uprooted (small ones) and all of the road signs were down in the street or the nearby grass.
I was able to get a glimpse of some of the most ferocious winds at about 4:00am. Make no mistake, Ike was certainly a force to be reckoned with. Opening the door had a similar to effect to that of rolling down your car window while driving 80 miles per hour as the pressure difference between the house and outdoors tried to equalize. Standing in the safety of our brick-enclosed entryway (see picture below), I was amazed that our pine tree hadn't snapped yet. The wind was pummeling the poor conifer holding it at a constant 60 degree angle while the individual branches flailed wildly in an attempt to regain purchase in the soil. With each gust, I was certain the tree could bear no more and would snap at the trunk. To my surprise, that tree as well as most others in the neighborhood made it through the night. I guess Highland Homes plants 'em in pretty good :)
All things considered, we feel very lucky and hope that everyone else in the Houston/Galveston area was able to stay safe through the mayhem. There is a big thunderstorm today that is hampering the rescue/cleanup efforts so it is still difficult to say how widespread the damage is, but it certainly looks like Ike was pretty rough on Houston.
Casa de Bateman against a pre-Ike sunset:
