Over a year ago, I looked out in my back yard to the neighbor's yard next door. There was a magnificent flowered tree, large and near the end of it's lifespan, but gorgeous. I ran inside and got my camera and took a picture of it, though slightly obscured by another tree which a week later fell. I gave my neighbor an 8x10 of he tree. Today, the tree having lost the larger part over two storms, was taken down. My neighbor is 94.

How very sweet of you.

It's not really gone as long as you remember it...and your photo will help with that!

This is sad.

It is also a part of life, but it is sad when it happens.

In the house my parents built themselves, and I grew up in, there was a eucalyptus tree they planted early in the house construction process. The tree was planted maybe a couple of feet "uphill," on our side of the boundary with our street. (We lived on a hill.)

As I grew up, year by year, snapshots would be taken of me on my birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, when I graduated from junior high and from high school--and always, that eucalyptus tree would be somewhere in the shot, showing not just my growth, but its growth too.

The last time I Googled the address of the house I grew up in, the eucalyptus tree itself (a predominant part of the front yard) had vanished, and all that was left was a massive trunk remnant, at ground level. (I think they just sawed it across, as close to the ground as they could get.)

That was really a shock to me. Somehow, and without realizing it, I had identified most all of my life with that tree (we were both around the same age), and now that it had been cut down and disposed of, I immediately and viscerally got the "message" that I was next up [or "down," more accurately].

I can empathize with what you are feeling, rhgc.

"My" tree is now gone too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2018 04:47PM by Tevai.

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.

I think I recall Rocky (Rocky & Bullwinkle) reciting a few lines ...

That picture you took speaks volumes. And not a season too late.

Everything is temporary, except happiness, if you squint...

I hate to see trees chopped down.. or dying . trees are our lungs' .

A red maple that my dad planted when I was born. (Actually, it was a replacement for the first tree, which died-- not a good omen), but the tree lasted 54 years. My father died in January, and in March, we had a windstorm which took down some big limbs, and made the tree a liability. Can't quite bring myself to plant a new one, as I don't know how much longer my mother is going to keep the house, but quite a few neighbors have remarked, "I miss your tree".

I just wanted to point out to all of you how wicked EXMOs become! RHGC made a beautiful gesture of friendship and kindness without being assigned to minister to his/her neighbor. This is the type of wicked sinning those without Mormonism are capable of :)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2018 09:16PM by BYU Boner.

It's happened to me and I understand.

I've watched an Austrian pine sapling grow from a baby into a tall beautiful tree in my backyard, over the space of a few years. It has begun to produce pinecones in the last couple of seasons.

We have several trees in our yard which we watched grow up from seed. One is over sixty feet tall. It is a seedling from another of our trees which is much smaller and in a state of decay although there is a rope for swinging which our children used and now our grandchildren.

Once, in our front garden by our driveway I saw three birch saplings growing and I pulled them up and left them in the driveway but, a few hours later, I felt sorry for the trees and took them into the back yard and planted them together and, as they grew, one of our children built a small treehouse on them.

Many years ago we had a cherry tree but the larger branch went down in a storm. I did not cut it off and the tree bloomed for many years and gave us cherries. Yes, the branch split and still, being part of the tree, gave us (and the birds) cherries and they were easily picked.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2018 08:28AM by rhgc.

When you hug a tree, you hug all trees.

I beg to differ. When you hug a cactus, you are screwed.

that was huge. The trunk wasn't one trunk. There were several spread out. It had flowers in the spring. It is a messy type tree per my ex (who is a horticulturist) and I wish I could remember the name, but I can't right now.

We also had a lot of pictures taken in front of that tree. Even my current boyfriend, who I dated in 1978, I have a picture of him in front of that tree.

They tore it down when they put in sidewalks and curb and gutter in front of my parents' home. That tree made our home so much prettier. I almost bought one like it this summer, but I had already planted a new one where one had died. Now I regret not buying it and will be looking for one next summer to plant in my yard.

My yard is covered in trees. I can't bare to even cut down the volunteers of my oak tree. They are so cute. I have to let my ex do that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2018 11:07AM by cl2.

I have a red maple tree in my front yard. It is maybe as old as the house I live in. In the two decades I've lived here it has doubled in size and looms over the front yard. It provides shade in the summer, and helps cool the house.

We had an ice storm in 2006 that tore and broke trees throughout our metro area. My neighbor's backyard tree brought down huge limbs into my backyard - which also brought down my power lines. They were arching in the backyard - was out of power for two weeks before the power company could make it to my house.

The only tree on our block that didn't lose limbs was my red maple tree. Its branches and limbs are more elastic than the other ones for some reason. There is something very tao about that. To be able to bend without breaking when the storms of life weigh us down. Then able to spring back from an inner resilience and fortitude. ❤️



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2018 01:43PM by Amyjo.

Well, the Charter Oak lasted for centuries. Perhaps that is why oaks are considered so sturdy. It is also the kind of tree to tie with a yellow ribbon around. Red maples are also special trees.