Sunday, August 15, 2010

Q: If a tree falls right outside your window, does it make a sound?

A: Yes.

If it weren't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all.

(Actually, that's not necessarily so. This limb's over twelve feet up the tree, at least a foot and a half in diameter at the point where it broke, and there's a good fifteen-foot length sagging to the ground. If it had failed catastrophically in a high wind instead of gradually one warm evening, it could have taken a corner off of Roseholme Cottage quite easily instead of just groaning along the roof before slipping off the eaves.)

6 comments:

Bubblehead Les. said...

Taint whining, Same thing happened to the old silver maple behind our house last fall. After a large branch nearly took out my shed, the fence, and the neighbors shed, and just missed the power line that runs up and down our block along our back fence line, we bit the bullet and had it taken down. When our tree guy reached the main trunk, he called me over and said "Good thing you decided to do this now, or the next big storm would have cost you a house". The center core of 8-10 inches was completely rotted out. The tree looked good from the outside, still spreading branches and dropping leaves. Cost us a $1000, but they hauled the wood away( no fireplace), and stump grounded to below grade. Miss the shade, but not the sleepless nights during storms.

doubletrouble said...

Call the hippy!

I'm thinkin' it might be time to take some preemptive strikes against the arboreal denizens of the Roseholme landscape.

Buy a woodstove & enjoy...

John Peddie (Toronto) said...

You might get a tree expert to take some core samples from the trunks, and large lower branches where they join the trunk.

Includes neighbours' trees within striking distance.

Then at least you'd have an idea what you're facing / internal rot situation.

People have a natural reluctance to remove urban trees (cost, shade, mess) but eventually, Mother Nature will always do the job for you.

Maybe not at a time or in a way you'd prefer.

Diamonds are forever-trees, not so much.

Matt G said...

"Mr. Gorbachev-- Tear Down That Hackberry!"

Brian J. said...

Are you actually invoking Hee Haw allusions?

At this point, I really hope so. The only thing worse than seeing Hee Haw allusions is seeing Hee Haw allusions that aren't there.

Tam said...

Brian J.,

"Are you actually invoking Hee Haw allusions?"

Mais certainement! And who would not, under such circumstances, invoke the existentialist themes of Kornfield Kounty?