Our neighbor’s tree has not had a good summer.
The left-most branch cracked during a storm, dropping its canopy on their porch roof and slightly breaking a window, loud enough that I heard it on the other side of our house.
Next, their arborists came to sever the broken branches and gently maneuver them down, supported by straps and ropes connected to forklifts, other branches, etc. However, the neighboring branch was not strong enough and it cracked under the stress.
Two weeks later, another late summer storm caused yet another branch on break off, which is in the foreground
This is not the tree’s first incident: a summer storm fifteen-ish years ago completely broke off a 300-pound branch that, fortunately, got wedged and didn’t free-fall through their porch. The branch was beyond the reach of a cherry picker, so someone bravely climbed the tree to cut the branch and lower it to the ground.
Their arborist surveyed the damage and said the remaining canopy is insufficient to keep the tree alive and the whole tree needs to come down. Our neighbors are devastated at losing their old friend but are resigned to its demise (and the loss of the shade it provides). As a small consolation they will mill the tree for use in their house.
Our neighborhood has many large, century-old trees, and everyone wonders if their tree is next. Our trees look good at present, but the story could change without much effort!
