Where I live there are plenty of trees. They border our land and overhang the garden. Normally you'd be forgiven for thinking this would be an enviable position to be in, but the truth is maintenance is almost constantly needed whatever the time of year; Winter, Spring, Summer or Autumn.
In Winter branches break off during storms and left-over seeds from Autumn drop to the ground.
In Winter branches break off during storms and left-over seeds from Autumn drop to the ground.
In Spring much the same happens, this time caused by the added weight of leaves growing and putting strain on old branches.
Summer means more old seeds get dropped making way for the new, and the now full weight of a verdant canopy leads to all kinds of damage if winds get above a gentle breeze. Birds leave their calling cards everywhere and there’s a constant noise as leaves jostle leaves.
Autumn? Well, that’s just plain messy with the majority of everything curling up and dropping off.
Back into Winter we go again and the cycle repeats.
Last year we had a large Elm die on us and it had to be cut down to prevent it falling on any near-by properties. Not as easy as it might seem because the local authorities have tree preservation orders on a lot of the older specimens. You can’t simply chop something down if it doesn’t look right. You have to get permission and it’s a long-winded process. Next to it there’s the dead stump of something very old that died and began to rot years ago. The neighbours, whose land it is on, weren’t allowed to just chop it down. They were told a certain amount of trimming was okay but that was it. To this day it stands a simple eight-foot trunk with no branches, dead and decaying but unable to be removed because of the order. It’s hollow now and at least the local squirrels have fun spiralling up and down it.
Trees are beautiful and necessary for nature and the environment. Though it may seem they are quiet, permanent fixtures in the landscape, strong and dependable, in my experience they are very much alive, in motion and in need of constant attention to prevent disease and decay. They require trimming and the ground around them needs clearing regularly. They harbour all kinds of noisy and scurrying wildlife. They create a background noise it's impossible to ignore.
Last year we had a large Elm die on us and it had to be cut down to prevent it falling on any near-by properties. Not as easy as it might seem because the local authorities have tree preservation orders on a lot of the older specimens. You can’t simply chop something down if it doesn’t look right. You have to get permission and it’s a long-winded process. Next to it there’s the dead stump of something very old that died and began to rot years ago. The neighbours, whose land it is on, weren’t allowed to just chop it down. They were told a certain amount of trimming was okay but that was it. To this day it stands a simple eight-foot trunk with no branches, dead and decaying but unable to be removed because of the order. It’s hollow now and at least the local squirrels have fun spiralling up and down it.
Trees are beautiful and necessary for nature and the environment. Though it may seem they are quiet, permanent fixtures in the landscape, strong and dependable, in my experience they are very much alive, in motion and in need of constant attention to prevent disease and decay. They require trimming and the ground around them needs clearing regularly. They harbour all kinds of noisy and scurrying wildlife. They create a background noise it's impossible to ignore.
They certainly make their presence known.
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