How sad that you lost such beautiful trees. I hope you have decided to plant more.
Thank you so much for the reminder that nature is on its own timeline and we are merely spectators for the short term. Also, thanks for the reminder of the beautiful poem about trees. I loved that poem many years ago and had forgotten it.
Your article couldn't have come at a more appropriate time for me because the landscape is about to change at our home too. We are waiting for the tree-trimmer to come and cut down an old black oak tree in our back yard in the next few weeks. It is hollow at the base and the extension agent recommended cutting it down because it would hit the garage if it fell. It is about 150 years old with a 90 foot height and spread.
We never realized that the 3 in by 5 inch hole in this picture would lead to a 5 foot cavern inside our beautiful tree. At that point in the tree, it is probably 6 foot in diameter. My husband stuck a stick inside the hole and was able to make a full swing from left to right across the inside of the tree. He dropped a light into the hole and my daughter secured her iPhone to a stick (very securely), then stuck it in the hole to take a video. The video is probably to large a file to upload, but the wood inside was damp looking and stringy. Awesome and scary at the same time.
This picture is from 2013. In a few weeks there will be a gaping hole in the scene. The oak tree with its golden brown foliage is in the back of the picture, directly to the right of the house. We are already looking at trees to decide what to replace it with. An Autumn Blaze maple sounds good.
