Whining about Trees

 

 

I’m not sure why my trees are the last ones in the neighborhood to drop their leaves. 

I live on the corner so I have a little more yard than most of my neighbors. I own 3 and half full grown trees that all drop quite a lot of leaves. The “half” is because I share one with my neighbor. I’m not sure where the property line is but the tree likely splits it. The colder weather up north means by early November the leaves are mostly on the ground. Here I don’t lose them all until about mid-December, which seems very late. Of course we don’t get a lot of snow so running into huge piles of the stuff that cover the leaves isn’t likely.

If I had the money I’d cut the big maple in the front down. It’s rotten right down through the middle and the branches droop lethargically and snap off with a stiff breeze. I spend each day following a storm cleaning up the weak ones that gave up, tired of being connected to the dying trunk. They lay scattered in peace around the green grass, the trash can their final resting place. A year ago I had a tree guy drive up and offer me a deal to cut it down. I wasn’t in a position to spend that much, so we settled on a few dead limbs near the top. He took a big chunk out of it but did away with some really dangerous “widow maker” limbs. That would have to do for now.

I’ve cut two trees down since moving here. I can’t imagine why the original owner went so crazy planting them. Two were very close to the house and I’m only surprised a massive limb didn’t crack a crossbeam on the roof. The first one I cut out within the first year of moving in. The heavy limbs leaned ominously over the roof waiting to crash down on it. The second tree was too close as well but hadn’t really developed heavy branches that would cause major damage. The worst thing that happened was during a summer storm. A blast of wind came through and cracked a good size limb from the base and pulled down my electric line running from my riser to the city utility pole. It also crushed my chain link fence. After the clean-up I decided the tree had to go. It took another year or so before I found the money, but I managed. Actually my neighbor offered to split the bill since it was near the line. It was a generous move, especially since the limbs always fell on my side. We still have one tree between us but it’s not much trouble.

This past summer I had another large limb crack off my pear tree in the back. Pears are notoriously weak trees and although they grow fast they rarely hold up in high winds. In Oklahoma that’s certainly true. We get some monstrous storms here that will make you wish you’d cut them all down. I like what trees offer, shade and cover. Old neighborhoods with big leafy trees that line streets show off the maturity of the homes but can be a lot of work. Most of the homes around here don’t have a lot of large trees and I think I know why. The storms make it tough to grow them sturdy.

I’m my wildest dreams I image having a big lot with trees around the property line. As Americans we like to move up in careers and status, big houses and estates are a part of that. I imagine everyone has an ideal home and setting in their mind. Some want sprawling green space with tree lined driveways and long showy gardens. Others like small lots with spacious rooms, theaters and man-caves for games and sports. Everyone has one key item or centerpiece to their dream home. For me it’s a pool. Not just any pool but a massive in-ground salt water filtered party space with grills, and outdoor dining. I get that pools are a lot of work, but I’d get a lot of use out of it from family and friends. You can keep the game rooms and the man cave and the big gardens, I’ll take a massive (how did you afford this type) pool that begs to be used.

Oh and I’ll take a gardener to clean up the trees in the yard after a big storm.