A Big Tree That Had To Go

The first time I saw the tree was 35 years ago and at that time it was huge, a huge leaning White pine sitting in my brother's front yard. The trunk was about 3 feet across and the entire thing extended upward 100 ft or better. (There is a dude in the tree for scale)

Through the years the old beauty was a center piece of the northern yard, but it was always a bit of a problem in that cars were parked under it and the tree did have a perspiration problem that left pitchy leavings on the vehicles. Now, if the cars were junkers, then the tree probably just added to the ambiance, the country look, but as they (my kin) became more affluent (I was going to say effluent) the deposits rather detracted from the general appearance, and maybe left friend wondering if they really lived deep in some forest in a subterranean hut as was rumored. Plus, even if a small branch were to fall the resulting alteration to the body would compromise even their accepted standards.

But the bigger problem was as the tree grew and as the winds blew, it was tilting more and more to the southeast---and in the direction of the house. A few years ago, one tree in a similar location had been hit by lightening, shattered and fell safely in the yard, but this one was larger and now over 120 ft tall. It was becoming clear that if it fell, with its massive tonnage and all, the entire house would be flattened if not vaporized leaving my kin in ill repair. In second thought, it would be a closed casket affair consisting largely of parts.

I just kept leaning, and leaning and the wind continued to blow---mostly from the northwest. A couple of days ago a smaller tree fell and landed 20 ft from the house. That was it. Death of a tree, while tragic, is not equivalent to a death of a couple of reasonable folks.

So the tree guys came out, trimmed the lower massive branches, climbed to the top, topped it and worked downward in 8 foot hunks. Today it is gone, cleaned up but not forgotten after 150 years of growth and regal display.