We Lost a Tree to the Ravages of Time
Jul 2 2008

This past Sunday, my husband, Erin, happened to look outside one of our front windows and noticed that one of the limbs of our big tree was leaning on our roof.   It had not been doing that just the day before.  This tree was unique in that instead of a big trunk with several limbs it had 5 separate big trunks growing from the same base.  I’m guessing it had to have been at least 30 years old.  We have oak trees in our back yard that must be 50 to 75 years old. 

Fortunately, the limb was resting rather comfortably with no sign of roof damage.   The next day while I was at my day job Erin met with the tree inspector guys who said we had to cut it down. 

We were so sad to see it go for many reasons including shade, beauty, the birds/lizards who would visit, and the fact that we used it to hang our US Flag on during holidays like the upcoming 4th of July!  However, it was apparent while they were cutting it down that it was rotting at the core for quite some time (see pictures below) and the limb that had fallen on our roof had been hanging on for dear life for a while now. 

What I found really interesting is that although on the outside we noticed one dead limb the other trunks/limbs (even the one leaning on our roof) was full of leaves and looked healthy.  I guess it goes to show you that something can look healthy on the outside but be sick, diseased, and dying on the inside.  That’s really kind of a sad, yet eye-opening thing to think about. 

Now we are wondering what we should do next.  Should we plant another tree?  If so what kind? Or should we just let the grass grow over it? 

 

 

 

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