When Mother Nature Decides to Redecorate

The scene above is not what you want to see when you run home to grab a quick bite of lunch! As far as anyone can tell, an errant gust of wind was all it took to topple this giant which thankfully fell away from my house. On the way down, it took out an waterpipe that fed the backyard irrigation system, my husband's grill, and a few chunks of privacy fence before coming impaling itself on the security wall.

It took a crew two days to cut down and remove the tree. Another day for water pipe repairs. My husband and I replaced the grill this weekend, and the fence and piece of uprooted patio foundation should be dealt with next week. We got off easy- if the tree had fallen the other way onto the house, we would be looking at a lot more destruction and a much messier cleanup. And thankfully best of all, no one was hurt by the falling tree despite the path behind my fence and the school on the other side of the wall.

That said, I have to admit I am sad. That giant tree was planted back when this house was built in the 1950s. Generations of families watched it grow, and benefited from the shade it provided, so essential in this desert climate. The tree was tagged with carved names and hearts, and it was easy to see that it had once been a climber's paradise. Now, after one errant wind, my hammock no longer rests in the shade, the local parrots have had to find a new home, and a part of the history of this place, of this house, is gone.

And so I document here- not as a lesson learned (though if you have old trees, get them checked periodically by a professional), not because I have valuable points to share (though if you do have a tree come down, I recommend getting professionals to remove it using the proper equipment), but because I wanted a way to honor a part of my home that I never really thought about until it was gone, and I discovered just how valuable it truly was to me at least.

Comments (22)

That was one beautiful tree! Sorry for your loss

hi,
gosh lucky escape it didn't fall toward the house.

not sure if the tree is all removed yet, but if you did want to pay tribute to it, did you know about old english gardens - Stumperys, where the stump of a tree is faced roots forward in the garden and plants are grown on and around it, I struggled to find a good example but here is one: http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/stumpery-garden/index.html
may not work well in a hot climate, because it rains a lot more over there!
cheers

Oooh, stumpery -- what a beautiful idea.

I would be devastated if our giant old fir was ever felled (it would certainly crush our house or the people behind us). It was one of the things that sold us on our house. Yet I constantly drive by crews cutting down magnificent old trees all over Seattle. There's a fierce debate citywide about who can cut down what and why. When my neighbors hacked down a giant pine I nearly cried. It gave them better views, they said. It took mine away.

Yeah, it kills me to when people cut down beautiful old trees. When I bought my house seven years ago, it had a beautiful old weeping birch in the backyard. The first night I lived there, the birch was filled with maybe 100 finches. I felt blessed. About four years ago, the tree began to die from the top down and then started dropping heavy branches that I was afraid might fall on my dogs so I had to have it cut down. I cried, even though I have many other trees in my yard.

I'm sorry that you lost that beautiful tree.

Such a shame! It was so beautiful. Do you have plans to replace it? What type of tree was it anyhow?

I live on the northeast coast of Massachusetts and last March we had a freak storm - winds up to 95 mph for just a few minutes - that downed over 2000 beautiful old trees in our little county. I still grieve for some of those trees as I drive around the area.

However, the tree that came down in our yard is not missed at all. In fact, I was kind of annoyed because it narrowly missed a bathroom that I'm dying to redecorate.

Our winter wind speeds are often upwards of 80mph and, naturally, the only thing that grows as much as 20ft tall is the scrub oak, clinging to the mountain sides. I don't quite get the alpine microclimate because the winds and snow have to be strong & deeper, and yet those conifers get upwards of 100 ft. Last week we had a hail storm with marble sized balls of ice and I was sure they'd crack a window -- but our windows held up, the aspens still stand, and we're hoping spring will show up before July 4th.

I did loose a kwanzan cherry one year (at my previous home) when the roofer backed his truck into it, and I cried a bit over those gorgeous double flowering blossoms.

And I cried when I lost two massive oak trees to some sort rotting disease. They must have been 200 years old, shading the Sonoma chaparral before Italian immigrants settled with their chicken farms and dairies.

The feeling of loss when we witness the loss of big old comforting shady tree is common -- did anyone read the stories of the trees that have fallen in Central Park? -- and yet, how unusual for one species to mourn the loss of another that doesn't even belong to it's own kingdom. We all empathize... but its a curious emotion to have, let alone share. Remember the Home Tree in Avatar?

Sure would be an interesting research project for a doctoral student. :-)

Oh how sad... a tree is indeed such a beautiful thing... hard to see it go. My parents house is surrounded by aged Oak trees and they can't bare to part with them... but every winter huge branches tumble down... It just takes so long for such a small acorn to grow into such a marvelous beauty.

Gosh, maybe it's just me but this seems a little insensitive right after the Joplin tornado. I still cry every time I read about those poor people. A tree is nothing compared to what they're going through.

Sally305, I think it's ok to mourn the loss of any life. I think we are all saddened by the loss of human life from the tornadoes but that doesn't mean that it's wrong to care about the loss of animal and plant life also.

Maybe one way to keep the tree in your life is to do something with the wood? I have no idea what kind it is and what it would be suitable for, but I have always loved how my parents had an old tree from our land made into a big book case, by a carpenter in the village.

I think that's a nice way of dealing with the simple fact that trees die. Cycle of life, and all that...

If you didn't discarded the carved parts you can keep them and decorate the garden or cut them so you can keep them in your home, on the walls. Keep some of the logs and decorate the garden :) . I know how it is to loose an old tree, my dad had to cut 4 big old trees and now the garden looks empty :( i used the wood to make decorations, in the holes i've planted some grass and small flowers, other logs are carved in so i can put flower pots.

It always hurts my heart a little when big old trees like that fall down. I feel like theres a history to them, something stoic and grand. It's probably silly but I'm sorry for the loss of your tree! Maybe plant a new one in it's honor?

We had a tree split and fall into our house about a week before the 100 or so tornados went through Tn/Al/Ga. Luckily, it hit our covered deck first because it would have torn through my daughter's room at 11 PM. More of the tree fell during the tornado but we were lucky that it only damaged our gutters. However, it was the tree where my daughter's first swing was located. I have many wonderful memories of pushing her in the swing.

I understand the sense of loss, but it's part of the cycle. Trees die, get sick, or are damaged every day. That's why we've made it a point to plant new trees periodically; We've planted 6 trees of various native species (about $30 each) since we moved into our house 10 years ago. It's doubtful that we'll personally see any substantial benefit from any of them, but as the 60 year-old trees which are already here start to die, these will be ready to take their place.

I lost my favorite tree on April 25. I live in a condo on the fourth floor, and the 200 year old oak tree had wrapped itself around my 20 foot covered terrace. I couldn't see anything put the tree, and a peek out of the very left and very right. When it fell, I was so shocked, I almost walked through the screen. I pushed back the wall of glass, but the necessity to push back the screen as well escaped me.

During the night, at 2:00 am exactly, as I was awake and watching, a mirco burst hit the building at the fourth floor level on my side. It knocked out a window on an apartment three doors down from mine, and pushed a 200 year old oak tree off center. Seven and one half hours later gravity finally pulled that tree down, ONTO MINE!! My tree was murdered. The other tree was a beautiful corpse, filling the street with debris four stories high. My tree, the one fell upon, was split open, and each side was folded like an acordian.

I am so sad. My condo was like a tree house. I think my apartment is pretty, but the best thing about it was the tree. Now my apartment is hotter by 16 degrees, with the blinds closed, which I never had to do before. It will never be the same.

Ok~ you all brought to mind a poem I fell in love with and chose to read aloud in front of my 4th grade classroom:

Trees ~ by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Sorry for your loss. I know how you feel. In what state do you live?

P.S. The team listing says you're a contributor from DC. I lived outside DC a year, and that tree photo is not from DC. I'm guessing that the photo is from CA or TX due to the palm in the background and the mention of desert climate, no?

Miami's Elaine- I'm a DC native currently living in Saudi Arabia.

Thanks, Colleen, I understand now why such a large tree was allowed to grow so close to the house. Once a tree is established and pretty under such challenging conditions, it's a shame to remove it even when its location becomes problematic. However, in conditions normal to that tree, its roots would have grown to to tear up the house's foundation.

I also understand now why the fallen tree had such a shallow root system. It was fed only by surface irrigation. Usually that sort of tree would have a root system corresponding in size to its branch spread.

I may be wrong, but this tree looks like a sort that evolved in areas of heavy rain, like ficus and banyan. It looks like a sort that would do well in India, or in SE Florida to the point of being invasive. It looks like an exotic unsuited to your area, and may not have been a good choice by previous occupants of a tree for your home.

I'm amazed it survived there, much less grew to that size. I know nothing about the plants of Saudi Arabia. However, if more native landscaping were planted, then it should be more stable. I agree that you were very lucky in how the tree fell.

Oh, I'm so sorry about your tree loss. I know that sadness well. The storms that brought all those tornadoes to the south last month took out a whole line of trees in our 100-year-old neighborhood, and it just doesn't feel like the same place without them.