Tree Removal

It was a quick job. Less than an hour to take out this crepe myrtle, a lovely tree, but definitely not suitable for the narrow space. Its roots were eroding the concrete to the point of creating a hazard for pedestrians. Our neighbors thought long and hard about whether or not to remove it, but had to opt for safety. The tree’s twin remains in front of our place, but we are having the same conversation as we watch the cement slabs move. A good twenty years ago the city offered free trees to anyone willing to plant and maintain them in the space in front of their house. A splendid idea that didn’t exactly work out. I wonder if anyone knows how many of those original trees are still around. We started with liquid amber, which was even more disruptive than the myrtle. When those were removed, we switched to what we thought was a less invasive species. Well.

The job itself seemed to go smoothly—the guy first cut the long thin limbs, then made a notch in the trunk close to the ground and finished the cut while the other guys pulled it down. As the mother of a tree guy, thus someone who hears a lot about safety and maintenance, I was interested to see the black sooty cloud that erupted every time these workers started the chipper. Someone needs to service that nasty machine. 

It will be interesting to see how the fruit trees in both our yards react to getting more light.