I Love Nature

The glorious 200 year old maple has been my companion since I bought this old farmhouse forty years ago. I loved this gigantic tree from the first moment I laid eyes on her. She was close to the back of the house, so I called in experts and they trimmed her and cabled a limb that was growing at a bit of an awkward angle. I loved her beauty and the shelter for birds, shade, and fall color she gave us. She was magnificent! Everyone who came to my gardens remarked about this beautiful maple tree.

Twenty years ago a large limb at the top broke during a bad wind storm, taking off the back porch roof and puncturing the bedroom ceiling as it crashed down. Again the experts were called, she was trimmed and deemed safe.

But over the past few years I noticed that the cabled limb seemed hollow. I began to worry during bad storms. I knew I needed to seek expert advice but I put it off because I feared the worst. I convinced myself that the tree was probably fine, even though my gut instinct was telling me differently. A couple of weeks ago after a particularly bad storm, I couldn't ignore it any longer. The experts were called. It was time for her to come down.

I felt so sad as I watched the process. Since a truck couldn't get back into the area, she was taken down by a climber, limb by limb, bit by bit and it was painful to watch. But it was fascinating as well to witness the expertise of the crew as they did their work. I tried to focus on that.

Finally the large notch in the trunk was cut and the result was shocking. The entire center of the trunk was hollow all the way up, at least 18 inches in diameter of rotted void was exposed. It was a relief to know for sure that I had made the right decision. And mostly I was grateful to my beautiful friend that she had held on until I could bring myself to decide.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

rckt148 · 61-69, M

I would have had the barrel cut long enough
that whatever wood that was still solid could be saved
We had one growing so close to the house as it grew Dad kept cutting chunks out of the house ,so it could grow and not further damage the house .
But sadly it had to come down
but after it was down Dad sent it to a friends saw mill
He got quite a few boards from it
several he used to repair where he had cut the house
the rest he build a work bench and a few shelves in his work shop
I was so hurt when Mom passed ,I never gave any thought of the work bench or I would have removed it
But I lost more then a tree
never really thought of it until now

It would have been nice to put in my shop
something that was important to Dad

During hurricane Katrina ,,we lost a lot of trees
but the ones that lined my place stood tall
But my landlord wanted them down ,one tree did fall down in the back 40 and land on a neighbors deck
But of the 10 trees taken down ,,only 1 was hollow
The made it through that storm ..and a man took them down
my place has not been as pretty every since
it used to look like a park
everyone loved coming here for cook outs ,
family gatherings
Since then ,we go to a park ,,with some shade

Datura · F

@rckt148 , lovely story about your Dad's tree. I'm sorry you didn't get the table.
I understand how you feel about your place now after the loss of the trees. My maple was on the south side, the old farmers knew what they were doing. I know the house will be a lot hotter. And the loss of her beauty will be strongly felt.
Years ago my boss and I took down a huge black Walnut tree and an old timer and I ran it through an old gas driven saw mill into beautiful boards. He took half for the price of the work, which was fair since no other saw mill would touch it for fear of nails. I made a lot of beautiful things with those boards.
I've got lots of plans for pieces and chunks of my maple!

rckt148 · 61-69, M

@Datura I have a box ,a few carvings ,,things I have made from trees that had to be downed
I was also a ground man for a tree surgeon
We took a lot of "trunks " barrels he called them to the saw mill ,,and yea they do fear spikes and nails with good reason
I have seen one of the carbide tips come loose from the saw blade ,and was thankful it went up and not at any of us
I was hired to maintain his truck ,chipper and saws
But I am a nature boy ,,I love doing the lowering
telling them what to cut next
We also drilled down into the roots and give them medication
we did the cabling ,removal of dead wood (widow makers ) and shaping the canopy so the tree is healthier .He was a tree doctor ,
We could drop a weeping cherry over many homes ,and not break a flower ,,with drop clothes and our huge stump grinder ,,when we left you couldn't even find the stump
I liked it ,but with a bad back ,it was just a friend helping me out till I could find other means to support myself ,,I learned a lot and was very grateful
But I HATE dropping healthy trees

Datura · F

@rckt148 , I was a landscape architect and construction foreman. I worked with many a wonderful expert of your kind. My son even worked as a ground man during summers in college for the company I used on our jobs. Much appreciation for your line of expertise!