In high winds last week a major limb of the neighbor’s tree broke off, grazing another’s garage. (If you look carefully you can see the stub in the middle left) Wisely afraid that another limb would likely hit one of three houses, the neighbors hired a tree service to take the tree down. It is always sad to lose a very old tree which has come to be like an old friend. But I guess trees too have a life span, and this one had reached the end.
Even the cherry picker bucket couldn’t reach high enough, so the man used spikes to climb still higher. Because the limbs were so large they were lowered down on a complicated set of ropes he put in place. It took all day and a crew on the ground to remove the tree, put small branches through a chipper, forklift big sections to a truck and grind the stump. I know it was an expensive, if necessary, process.
The birds and squirrels are scoping out new houses. Fortunately many are available and I expect an abundant number of babies in the spring. Maybe they, like us, need to be shaken out of complacency now and then!(Thoughtful minds might make the connection with living in the United States at the moment.)
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Saved By Words 
Sad news about the old tree, but good to see you back blogging again.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks. Trying to juggle work on Aunt Lucy with writing the blog. I keep getting lost in the 1860’s!
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Sad news about the old tree, but good to see you blogging again.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great to see you, Elizabeth.
Our neighbour recently had two large conifers removed. They had been home to numerous bird families over the years, but for the past two years, grey squirrels had taken up residence – a nuisance really! Once the trees were cleared, a beautiful, large Acer came into view, so we are more than happy.
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We only have grey squirrels. We do have occasional black ones. They seem to reproduce all year long judging from the frantic pursuits we see among them!
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We’ve lost a couple of trees in the last two years to heavy windstorms. They were here when we moved in some 30 years ago. We’ve also had a few big ones removed for fear they might fall on the house. It’s fascinating to watch the tree service take a tree down step by step.
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We had asked a neighbor to take down one dead pine. She didn’t. That one took out our fence and grape arbor. Fortunately Charlie repaired both, sawed up the tree and deposited the pieces in her yard. They are still there.
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Sounds familiar.
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It is always sad to see trees being cut down, but there is an expiry date for everything. Here too a lot is going on in the political front and I keep wondering if people in power think they are eternal.
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Our President keeps asking if he is going to Heaven. He must have an inkling he is mortal! He also wants to build an arch celebrating himself. For “after” I guess.
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It’s the old circle of life, isn’t it? We are constantly reviewing the trees whereabouts but any work is a slow process due to a two level process to get permission to do anything.
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No permission needed here. Sad really since some gorgeous healthy trees have been removed.(Our neighbor’s was not a healthy tree.)
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I’m always sad when I see magnificent old trees taken down, but do realise that human life & safety are all important.
Blessings, Jennifer
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Here so many trees predated the housing that we have to keep alert to their conditions.
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Such is nature.
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Hi Elizabeth. This does sound like a complicated and dangerous operation.
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