Everything turned out better than expected.
Well, we somehow lived through Irene. Some of my relatives are sans power, but we're lucky and are pretty much unscathed. *knocks on wood* We still are in wind and some more lighter rain is set to hit in a bit, but we're okay. My plum tree is rocking around because of poor root system in soaked ground. In the park, some branches, half an older tree, and a few pines near the retention pond are down. The pond is up to its tiptop, which is really impressive because it's over 12' deep. A helicopter was looking for damage. So lucky.