Our beloved maples
We've had a lot of rain and fierce storms this year. And we have lots of tall, ancient trees in our yard, a couple of them battling an ant infestation. So I guess it was only a matter of time before lightening would strike and bring a limb down. A huge branch broke off the ash in the back, struck the shed roof and put a hole in it. About a month later, a branch broke off the maple in our front yard, taking the mailbox out. Fred forbid the girls to play on their swingset anymore, worr
ied a falling branch would take them out! Time to call for the very expensive tree service.
Yesterday a whole crew of men arrived to remove the two offending trees and trim up the others. I took a few pictures and then the girls and I left, not fully trusting that these guys would not let the tree fall onto the house.
ied a falling branch would take them out! Time to call for the very expensive tree service.Yesterday a whole crew of men arrived to remove the two offending trees and trim up the others. I took a few pictures and then the girls and I left, not fully trusting that these guys would not let the tree fall onto the house.
We returned to find the ugly stump and our yard bare. This tree was like an old friend, our towering maple that gave us cool shade in the summer a
nd dropped a carpet of gold in the autumn. I will miss this tree. We could always plant another, of course. More new beginnings. I always resist change.
nd dropped a carpet of gold in the autumn. I will miss this tree. We could always plant another, of course. More new beginnings. I always resist change.
4 comments:
When we moved into our house almost 30 years ago, the yard was bare of trees except for a wooded area behind our house. There were over 25 tall, beautiful trees of all types including silver maple, walnut and sarsaparilla. We loved those trees. They provided much needed shade in the summer. They were so colorful in the autumn. We loved the leaves that fell all over our back yard in October. (We did not so much enjoy raking those leaves.) The trees were so pretty in the winter when they were covered in snow. The birds loved the trees as much as we did. We had owls and doves and huge red-headed woodpeckers, cardinals, chickadees, titmouses, blue jays and even an occasional oriole. I could see the trees and all of the bird activity from my kitchen window. It made doing dishes enjoyable!
Remember the ice storms that swept our area about 15 years ago? The weight of the ice loosened the roots of about five of our beautiful trees. I begged the tree service to do what they could to save them. They could not but we did get tons of fire wood. I really missed those trees. The backyard was not the same without them.
Last summer a freak storm took out all but a few of our remaining trees. A wind burst swept across our back yard during that storm and snapped the top of a huge walnut tree. The top of that tree fell onto another tree which fell onto yet another tree. It was a domino effect. When the brief storm was over, 2/3 of our back yard was covered in debris. There were birds' nests all over the backyard. The birds were frantic. I called the township. They took down the damaged trees, which were in a township easement. I had to call a tree service to take out the stumps. There were 18 tree stumps.
Our beautiful back yard is no more. The easement is now covered in ugly weeds which have prospered with the sunshine and all of the rain we have had this summer. We are struggling to clear out the weeds. A lot of the birds have gone as they have no place to nest. Yes, Deb, we can plant more trees but we will be long gone before we can enjoy them.
I love your stories and they contribute so much to this blog. I'm sad about your trees too. Trees contribute so much to the richness of life. While I won't live long enough to enjoy a big, shady tree in our front yard again, we might just like to see a little sapling grow up. I'm worried the ants will take up residence in it though.
I amm so sad about the trees, but most grateful no one was hurt. We were in Va and thankfully had great weather while there
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That had to be hard. Something as unoffensive as a tree is a sad thing to see go. Plant something lovely and make it meaningful. :)
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