It's sad when a tree dies. For most, it's a slow death. Sometimes... when we lived on Washington Avenue, and I was in First Grade, a hurricane hit the city. Mom, Dad and I watched as a huge elm teetered and tottered all afternoon and eventually came down across the road. It took telephone lines with it and rendered the house dark for a few days. I'm sure it was a pain for my parents but for a six year old, it was some exciting. That tree waved back and forth in a fierce wind before she toppled over. Once she started leaning, her life expectancy was greatly reduced.Today, we have a couple of trees on the property that soon will be taken down. One is this one, a type of cherry, that leans perilously towards the family room The other, a once proud maple, is slowly losing its majestic shape on the lawn. Its twin was taken down ten years ago. When the day came to take her down, I spent the day away; I just couldn't bear to see her hit the ground. I still miss that old maple. Ol' sentimental me.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tree Death
It's sad when a tree dies. For most, it's a slow death. Sometimes... when we lived on Washington Avenue, and I was in First Grade, a hurricane hit the city. Mom, Dad and I watched as a huge elm teetered and tottered all afternoon and eventually came down across the road. It took telephone lines with it and rendered the house dark for a few days. I'm sure it was a pain for my parents but for a six year old, it was some exciting. That tree waved back and forth in a fierce wind before she toppled over. Once she started leaning, her life expectancy was greatly reduced.Today, we have a couple of trees on the property that soon will be taken down. One is this one, a type of cherry, that leans perilously towards the family room The other, a once proud maple, is slowly losing its majestic shape on the lawn. Its twin was taken down ten years ago. When the day came to take her down, I spent the day away; I just couldn't bear to see her hit the ground. I still miss that old maple. Ol' sentimental me.
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Sad beauty.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a good Wednesday !
Wong
I feel the same way about trees; I'm a real 'sap.' Whenever we have to take one down, I, too, have to leave for the day. Then we plant two new ones. That helps a little.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Thanks for visiting my blog--and yes, that's a NYorker cartoon.
I love trees and have a variety on our property but living in a huricane prone area we ensure there are no trees leaning toward the house. Over the years we have removed many trees and the result is a full canopy of coverage. Sadly, some of my favorite trees are not known for their longevity. (Coral bark maples)
ReplyDeleteNice story,
Genie
A real 'sap'...that Sharon Creech is funny. It's no wonder you care about trees, Birdman, because you, too, rely on a root system to sustain you.
ReplyDeleteDear friend,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your lovely memories, this story, these are the little souvenirs from our childhood.It's precious!
Léia
This is a sad story. When I first moved to the house I'm in now, two new trees were planted in my front yard and they took hold and were thriving when a careless driver speeding through the neighborhood sliced through my yard and took out one of the trees. It was cut off all the way down to the ground. It made me cry. But, there is a happy ending. The part in the ground continued to grow and now the tree is tall and full. It's a little oddly shaped but, it survived.
ReplyDeleteA very coincidental story. We are having some trees taken down on our property today. Our neighbor across the street once had a tree fall during a storm. It was a big pine (that's what we have mostly around here) and luckily it fell across the street and did no damage to anyone's property. It was a little scary though! And a big mess to clean up.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of trees in my yard that need to come down too and I hate the thought of it.
ReplyDeleteWe recently had a couple of trees taken down because of rot and it made me very sad. We planted more but I doubt that I'll be around by the time they mature in about 20 years and that makes me sad too!
ReplyDelete☼ Sunny
I live in a mature neighborhood with a beautiful tree canopy, and one of the old giants is always giving up. Fortunately, most of the neighbors give it a respectful few months and then plant a replacement. Life is constant renewal.
ReplyDeleteI anthropomorphize plants, especially trees!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to know about your site... I will be back.
Beautiful photo. I do hate it when they die too.
ReplyDeleteWell you old softy , we love you for it. Grand old trees stand so tall and proud. It's sad to see them go.
ReplyDeleteV
Terrific story, enjoyed
ReplyDelete