I was home and got this photo of the tree in front of our house.
It was planted WAY too close to the house and the bottom layers of the tree just can't make it from where they are. The bottom branches have been dying for years. It doesn't really look way healthy anyway.
But I hate cutting down trees, they take so long to grow.
The storm changed our collective opinion on that.
We had a man out this spring to trim back the parts of the branches that were touching the house on the general belief that spruce tree to shingle contact isn't ever going to be helpful for shingle life.
After the big wind the tree was touching the house again. It used to be pretty much straight up and down, which is, of course, the way trees generally grow.
I was having some second thoughts right up until the moment when the men attached the rope to the upper levels of the tree and pulled on it to make sure that when the actions of the man with the chainsaw at the base of the tree began to take effect that the tree would fall away from the house. The tree wobbled back and forth like a drunken sailor, very clearly no longer firmly moored to the ground which has been its firm base all these many years.
The tree had outlived its useful life and just in case we weren't going to notice, the big wind detached it from the ground. As of this moment there is a stump out there.
Stump grinder coming next week, fall is a good time to plant trees anyway.
8 comments:
You're going to miss that tree, but you did what you had to do. I do love a blue spruce. There are two of them in our next door neighbors' yard here -- neither of them are healthy. In time they will be gone.
Stay tuned to my FB page for a picture (or possible video) of the tree going down and the current view of the house (and stump). Very exciting to watch.
The yard/front of the house is going to look so strange without that giant tree. But Santini is right - you did what you had to do. Trees should not be leaning on the house for support.
The yard will be OK. We are both committed to a fairly mature tree for a replacement. Internet research has identified that the old spruce tree had a fungal infection which was killing the branches. We don't think the same kind of tree in the same spot is a good idea so we are looking into 10 to 15 foot pines or firs, Balsam fir, eastern white pine and red aka Norway pine being the current front runners.
I measured, that tree was actually 12 feet from the house. That should ordinarily be enough for a blue spruce. It wasn't proximity to the house, it was the fungus that finished off that tree.
How do hemlocks do in your climate?
It’s too bad about the tree. Though at this point, the security of your house, especially your roof, comes first. At least you can choose an area to plant a new one that isn’t too near the house yet can provide a good shade when it grows up.
I agree with what you did, Gino. With a one strong gush of wind, the tree will inevitably crash on your house, damaging your sidings, roof and interiors. How's everything now? Maybe you can plant another tree just a little further from your house this time. Thanks for sharing! :)
Jonathan Price @ Jonathan Price
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