I’ve mentioned a couple of times about our house being situated on a treed ravine. It’s really beautiful and is part of the attraction of our house. Obviously our backyard is also filled with trees, as is every neighbor’s yard, all the way down the block, along the ravine.
A few years ago our next door neighbor sold her house and moved to Atlanta. The new family is friendly and pleasant enough. They take care of their house and yard and even bailed us out of two feet of snow this past winter…(honey, anytime you wanna buy a snow blower, don’t stop yourself!…although, undoubtedly, the emissions aren’t good for the environment!)
Then one morning we were awakened by the roar of blaring chainsaws…slashing away at every limb, branch and trunk of all 12 of the neighbor’s backyard trees. By the end of the day, there were 12 sad, little, one-foot stumps sitting helpless around their yard.
I wanted to throw-up.
Even my kids knew how horrible it was. Our daughter said “Mommy! Why did she do that?!?!? Cutting down trees is baaaad!” She said she was tired of the leaves and acorns. Wow. Leaves and acorns. Such a problem. I cannot imagine EVER taking down a tree unless it is dying and a threat of falling. (In fact I have two pretty gnarly trees in my yard but can’t imagine taking them down.)
Trees are so very, very crucial to our environment. They provide oxygen and shade, improve air quality, conserve water, preserve soil and support wildlife (as both food and habitat) and the list goes on and on. Truly, it broke my heart.
Sure their new grass is thick, lush and green now. Mine is sparse in spots and slightly pathetic because of the limited sunlight, but when I look out into my yard, I’m at peace with Mother Earth and I know she’s at peace with me.
photo by: www.kracked.com
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…so yours is sparse in spots - tell Jim not to pee in the backyard and the grass will recover. Other than that Mother Nature will continue to smile down on you.
That’s for skunks not deer. Wolf urine is for deer. Don’t ask where these pearls of wisdom come from but I have a million of them.
While it is a pity when any trees are torn down (the city government just tore down the woods I had behind my house), the majority of the earth’s oxygen is produced by blue green algae. Just a bit of random information… but I’m sure with the amount of chemical spills and dying reefs the amount of algae could start to fall as well…
We love trees. Our neighbor also cut down a tree but it was very old and had many branches wired to keep them up. My guess is that without the wires several of the branches would have already hit the ground. Still, it was sad to see it go. Our yard is full of trees so no planting now but I have planted trees in several states over the years and I find it quite rewarding just knowing that a tree i planted is growing and making someones day. I highly recommend the experience of planting your own tree.
Johns last blog post..Slow Food
man that sucks… what a waste! I heat with wood from the 20 acres behind my place, but the cutting down of diseased trees helps healthy ones grow (still working on the front 500 feet of the woods & diseased trees), plus now we’ve got tons of new plant life growing all over the area where trees have been cut (sunlight can get through).
John - thanks for your comment! It made me smile!
I actually bought my husband a Japanese Cherry tree for his first Father’s Day. We planted it in our yard and have LOVED watching it grow and bloom in the springtime over the past six years! I agree! EVERYONE PLANT A TREE! 
Happy - I love that you’re being conscious and responsible about the ones that you are cutting. I wish everyone was! (Our neighbor’s trees were beautiful and healthy!)
Here in San Jose you must get a permit to cut down a tree that’s over a certain number of inches in diameter. The city will even have a hearing, and you must have an argument (tree is dying/sick, danger to fall on your house, etc.) and you MUST plant 2-3 new trees for every tree you cut down.
~ Elizabeth
Oh my gosh, that is so sad - I would totally have been heartbroken, too! Heck, I’ve been upset we have had to cut down trees that were dying or messing up the neighbor’s plumbing. (”No, no, can’t we give it some more time? Can’t we give it another chance?”)
[...] you may remember my frustration with “My neighbor – the tree hater!” (She chopped down a dozen healthy, beautiful trees in her backyard!) Well, this weekend the [...]
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