Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumProbably not the right forum
There is a line of big pines on my neighbors' property. The trees have been there since we moved here in 1989, planted by the original owners. The house has changed hands 3 times since 2016. Every family that moved hope to cut the trees, but it was too expensive. Well, today, they are getting cut down. The newest neighbor wants more space to park the several vehicles the family has. They built a carport next to the existing garage just recently. But I guess that's not enough. I don't know why people have to cut out the trees in the spring when the birds and other animals are nesting. It is bad enough that the trees are getting cut out, but it is cruel to destroy habitat when there are young creatures and animal parents trying to raise them. The neighbor up the street has wanted those trees gone for years. He wants every tree gone anywhere in his view. I'm pretty sure he has put a bug in every ear as the house changed hands.
The trees held the hillside in place. The tree hater has systematically cleared his side of the road of trees since he's lived there, and the result is more and more dirt and gravel washing down to my yard. I have r.r. ties lined up to direct the washout further down the edge of the yard. With the big pines gone, I predict that a lot of the new neighbor's yard is going to end up washing down my way. I told them the trees were planted there for a reason, but like everyone else on this street, they don't care about destroying the environment to make a parking place or increase the size of their yards.
The neighbor's daughter, who sold the house in 2016, bought a smaller house across town. She has planted over a dozen trees in her smaller yard there. I let my yard grow wild, and I think I will follow through with planting bushes in the part I don't use. I'm leaving soon for the day and I won't have to be here as they slaughter Nature.
codfisherman
(89 posts)Right or wrong forum; I feel your pain. They chop down all the trees so they can park their extra cars so they can get from Bojangles to McDonalds to Walmart and back home to binge on Netflix and order more things from Amazon. The last few years have seen an explosion of speculative new homes in and around my small town. 90% of them clear cut, then spank out a horrible cheaply made house with not a bush or tree or weed to be seen.
lark
(24,149 posts)We had 27, but 2 were dangerous and had to be removed and 2 got hit by the neighbors' tree falling on them and broke apart so had to be cut down. I hate having to remove any trees at all and we do our best to preserve ours. We have 2 now that are laurel oaks and don't live as long and they are dead/dying at 75 and very close to the house. They are also right in amongst a bunch of wires, so really expensive to remove. We got the tree guys to trim those 2 so the canopy was away from the house to make them less dangerous, but we do need to have them removed. I just hate to do it and of course would never do it in the spring! It will take out so much shade and our house will be more expensive to cool - which is a big consideration when you live in FL. Sigh.
So we keep putting off getting the 2 dead/dying trees down because we love the present environment where our hydrangeas get the perfect amount of shade and early sun, but know we will have to pull the trigger sooner rather than later with the climate changed superfueled storms that are predicted to come.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a crystal ball?
Marthe48
(19,012 posts)The yard is 1/3 acre. I had 4 of the big trees trimmed 2 or 3 years ago. Cost $4500.00. The tree guy said if he had the trees he couldn't afford to get them trimmed. We both laughed, what can you do? I was holding my breath every time we had a storm come through, and I was less stressed since the trimming. The neighbor said awhile back that it was too expensive to get the pines cut down. When they put the carport up without cutting the trees, I thought they had worked around the trees.
We had to get a couple of smaller trees cut out in 1998 and 2012, after wind damage. We replaced both. Wishing you luck that the trees you are worried about hold up until you can tend to them. Maybe you can plant a couple of trees and get them established before you remove the fragile trees.
lark
(24,149 posts)I have to continually pull up or cut down volunteer trees, this whole area really wants to return to being an oak forest.
I am thinking about getting some fruit trees, but I'm so old I don't know that I would get to enjoy the fruit. I know it takes awhile. Still think that's what I will do, pay it forward at the least.
Marthe48
(19,012 posts)different species. A lot of sweet gums, but also apple and cherry trees, thanks to feeding the critters fruit I didn't eat. A few years ago, we picked up a bunch of acorns at the fairgrounds and brought them home for the squirrels in our yard. Now, there is a nice sturdy oak growing in one of the beds out front. The more the merrier!
Diamond_Dog
(34,622 posts)Our new neighbor just had five lovely old maple trees completely cut down.
Pine trees, however
. now if theyre in good shape thats one thing. But around here weve had spindly pine trees fall over in storms (due to shallow roots, Im told). And when the homes were built decades ago, the homeowners planted the trees way too close to the house not completely understanding how big theyd eventually get. Roots get in the foundations or the pipes, etc. Pine needles clog up the gutters, etc.
I sure wouldnt be too thrilled to see the trees removed for more vehicle parking, however.
We have 3 acres and 30+ large trees so we deal with tree issues a lot.
Marthe48
(19,012 posts)and they were planted in the 1950s, so they weren't too old. They shed needles, but not into the gutters, too far from the house. They've never lost branches or broke in the storms we've had. The sweet gums in the back yard have both suffered damage, but the tree guys cut out the damage and saved the trees. I have a lot of volunteers growing in the yard, so I will get them relocated and see if they will grow to add some cover for the birds. The squirrels like the sweet gums, and I think there is a nest in one.
My Mom and Dad loved trees. When I was young, we had a windstorm, and a young wild tree behind our house was toppled by a bigger tree. They couldn't save the big tree, but my parents dug a hole in the front yard, and moved the young tree to that spot and it thrived. The young tree was about 20 feet tall. I remember them being so careful with the roots and using my Dad's Ford 9N tractor to move it. Maybe that influenced my outlook. One of my kids and her husband live near DC. When there was a heavy snow storm a few years ago, the weight of the snow knocked 2 of their pines askew. Their dear neighbor knew a tree company who came out and got the trees situated and braced. They survived.
I'm glad to hear from you, and really glad that some people cherish their trees.
Diamond_Dog
(34,622 posts)But sometimes you have to be realistic. We did have a half-dead maple in the front yard that the tree guys managed to save. (The people who built this house lined the driveway with maple trees).
We have mostly maple trees. The squirrels scamper around and eat the seeds that fall.
All the trees do keep the house cooler in the summer. Our a/c doesnt usually kick on till around 5 pm.
The drawback is that I have so much shade I cant plant anything that flowers except impatiens. Thats OK with me, Im not an avid gardener and the Hostas do nicely and come up every year.
Your Dad sounds a lot like my husband. He probably would have done the same with the tree you mentioned. Hes still an avid vegetable gardener although every year the garden gets smaller and smaller. 🙂
Good to hear from you, too!
Brenda
(1,321 posts)I'm so sorry you have to live near such horrible people. Really. Bad. Neighbors. I'm about at the end of my rope living in a similar situation.
A close friend of mine (who was a long time DUer who has passed) told me that he believed it was important to say a prayer (of any kind, of any faith or simply a farewell if you're non-religious) every time you cut down a tree.
That stuck with me and I have said a silent farewell every time a tree had to be downed on my property. Just a couple, it's small.
Tree haters on top of the hill. Ain't that the picture of Trump and everything wrong with the world?
Rhiannon12866
(222,110 posts)When my mother's friend across the street passed away they cut all the trees on her property - why?? I know that she loved the beautiful giant pine that predated building her house and the crab apple tree that she planted herself in her front yard. Both trees were cut down as well as any others on the property and my brother, who still lives in my parents' house, said that it's possible to see clear through the house and it's going to be hot in the summer with no shade. Ironically, the name of the street is "Sylvan," meaning "woodsy and rustic."
Marthe48
(19,012 posts)I've seen so many properties bought and the trees cut down, and I don't think it's for any other reason than to make it 'theirs' .
James Michener pointed out the irony of the destruction of actual wildlife and people putting plastic yard ornaments on display, I think in his book Chesapeake.
Rhiannon12866
(222,110 posts)With riding mowers, no less! In the summer there's a constant buzz of either mowers or chain saws.
Marthe48
(19,012 posts)I am surrounded by the same. Also, the trees come down because people don't want to rake. The people who mow their own yards take way longer than the paid services. I told my relative the other day that I thought they were making it a sublime experience and her husband said, "Now, you're getting personal", or something like that.
I have noise-canceling earphones, but with the chipper right next to my house, it is not helping. The earphones help a lot with the mowing noise. They are blue-tooth and I can listen to things.
Rhiannon12866
(222,110 posts)We even have deer in these parts, not to mention bunnies, skunks, foxes, all manner of birds, and of course squirrels and chipmunks. We're actually invading their space and I respect that.
Marthe48
(19,012 posts)The trees I looked at for 35 years are gone, but in their memory, I sent a donation to The National Arbor Day Foundation.