It happened late one night. We all dashed out of our houses to discover what had made the creak, crash, boom.
I guess the tree got old and gave up. I'm 5'4" tall. When I stand next to this, it comes up to my shoulder.
It was nice, all of us outside in the night, chatting, wondering, exclaiming, grateful no property or person was damaged when the giant tree came down.
We miss the tree. Our neighbor who loved it in her front yard got a mountain of firewood. But she misses the tree most of all.
A new season awaits a new tree.
That's very sad, it's a beautiful looking tree. Still, given its size, it is indeed very fortunate no one and nothing was damaged in its fall!
ReplyDeleteIt's such a shame when trees come down, whether caused by nature or caused by humans. I hope another was or will be planted. It would make for a nice ceremonial get-together on your block.
ReplyDeleteThe trees in your area have always amazed me!. Growing up in L.A., trees that size are unheard of... Even where I live now, its a rarity- thanks to man made development!I would be sad too, if I lost a tree of that age and size.
ReplyDeleteWhat a grand old tree. I like AE's idea of a neighborhood planting ceremony.
ReplyDeletePoor old tree... How nice that the neighbors ended up with an impromptu gathering. I agree that an event is warranted, when/if a new tree is planted. Trees love a good ceremony.
ReplyDeleteTHe bigger they are the harder........well you know. Glad it didn't damage your homes and everyone is safe. Cool macro shot!
ReplyDeleteV
This is a wonderful idea--a gathering for a new tree! I'm glad I posted this. I asked my neighbor and she said it was okay. But I know she was upset about losing her tree. It has memories for her.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that the older trees on our block were planted in the 1920s, when most of the houses were built. But maybe this one was older.
I'm so glad no one was hurt and what a magnificent tree. I love old trees and it's sad to see one fall (many mature ones fell in the hurricane few months ago, heartbreaking) - I hope you are able celebrate its end somehow. I wonder if there's a way to engineer a sapling out of the old and grow it anew? (Someone managed to do so with a 300+ year historic oak here.)
ReplyDeleteOh, that hurts just to look at it, Petrea. What a sad day.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I admire the practical way the owner has formed a path through it.
Time to plant more trees.
No re-engineering of this one, Lulu, it is completely dead. I like the regeneration idea, though.
ReplyDeleteIt cracked the sidewalk when it came down, Dive. If it were mine, I might leave it that way. But liability, you know. We Americans are such litigators.
What a grand old tree that must have been. Sad it fell but Happy no one was hurt. The whole episode nicely put, Petrea. (I finished my post for tomorrow earlier which centers around a tree and my height - not going to change it now - great minds, I guess.) PS. Mr LOL requests you count the rings.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, we can all help date it by counting the rings. And be able to tell what the weather was like in times past. Your post has reminded me that I lost a jacaranda in the windstorm. The purple flowers graced my rear garden each spring. Maybe I should plant a new one also?
ReplyDeleteBy coincidence, today I'm trying to sort out a problem resulting from that windstorm. Our NEW car that replaced the old one hit by our tree was accidentally registered as salvage, so I've been unwittingly driving around without proper registration for over a year! It was no fun going to the DMV at 8 am, and problem still not sorted.
Lauren, please send Mr. LOL my regards and tell him that I'll send him a larger photo if he'd like to count the rings himself!
ReplyDeleteBellis, what a pain! I don't know who needs bureaucracy. I suppose it feeds the coffers. I just wish it were more efficient.
Petrea, Well said! PS. Amongst other comments too complicated to include here, Mr. LOL also sends you his kind regards :).
ReplyDeleteHi--
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the humongous tree they just had to take out on Hill Ave, south of Mountain,I think. That one must be at least 5 feet in diameter (there's still a huge stump)& there was firewood available for days....it IS sad but thankfully nothing got crashed upon in either of these cases!
LOL, imaginingg Mr. LOL's complicated comments makes me eager to visit you both in Coventry and converse.
ReplyDeleteHi Nancy--Is that the huge huge huge one that could have taken out the whole house but didn't? We lost so many trees in that storm, and that was one of the biggest. I think it was right at Mountain and Hill.
I feel like you should count the rings in homage.
ReplyDeleteThat was one big tree! I'm sorry it's gone. What wonderful shade it must have provided all those years.
ReplyDeleteGood to know no one was hurt and no one's home was damaged. A tree planting ceremony seems like a fitting tribute to this "Grandmother tree".
Excellent photo essay/blog post!
I feel sad for that true.how much history it witnessed.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could volunteer the pepper tree next door to have taken it's place. It is not the least loved by me
ReplyDeleteWe want a tree we can love! But it's all up to one person, and I don't know her plans beyond some nice fires in the fireplace.
ReplyDeleteSo sad about a nice big tree. Maybe an arborist could come out to say exactly why the tree fell. Do you have an extension service like we have here, through the USDA, who might be able to tell whether it was disease, or had been hit by lightning, etc?
ReplyDeleteWow! That was a huge tree! Glad it did not fall on a house.
ReplyDeleteSpeedway, she's had an arborist come, and a diagnosis made. I believe she'll make her new plans based on that.
ReplyDeleteSo are we, Linda!
See you at Warwick Castle!! Or, who knows, we just might be in Pasadena in August :).
ReplyDeleteSee you at Warwick Castle!! Or, who knows, we just might be in Pasadena in August :).
ReplyDeleteLauren, if you come, we'll have a blogger get-together.
ReplyDeleteFor sure!!!! :). PS Don't know how I ended up posting my comment twice :(.
ReplyDeleteWow!!! What a blessing that it didn't cause damage or injury!!! Do let us know if you find out what caused that beautiful old trees demise. We have a giant Deodor tree next to our bedroom down south...It could do some serious damag/injury if it fell...was there no warning that the tree was dead???
ReplyDeleteOur first year up here our neighbors across the street took down a tree because it was leaning more and more and they thought it had rot on the inner core...it was at least as big as this one if not bigger...fascinating to watch the tree taken down.
http://mammothlakesdp.blogspot.com/2010/11/you-may-not-know-this.html
Oak root fungus. It fell over because it didn't have any roots left. It's amazing it survived the 2011 wind storm.
ReplyDeleteAs for warnings, I don't know all the details, but neighbors did talk about having heard creaking for a couple of weeks, but they weren't sure where the sounds came from.