tldr; taking down a tree and replacing it with a parking pad.
I love trees and hate to kill one, but this one had become increasingly destructive. It's a silver maple that took root in a very awkward place about 45 years ago at the intersection of two property lines and the alley and proceeded to tear apart everything it could reach with its aggressive root system: the neighbors' parking pad, the adjacent alley, what was left of the kids' old sand pile, and Richard's carefully cultivated compost heap. The neighbors really wanted to replace their cracked and crumbling parking area, but couldn't do it unless the tree was removed. It finally occurred to me that if we took it out, not only could our elderly neighbors finally replace their cracked concrete before they died, we could have a parking pad too!
But it is pretty amazing how fast a silver maple can grow and how tenacious their root system is. Holy shit! The tree is gone now, but the landscaping service has been working all day trying to get that stump out. They finally knocked off for the day when the tornado sirens went off but are coming back tomorrow WITH A BIGGER EXCAVATOR.
That's terrifying! I know several people who have had much larger silver maples taken out, so presumably this one can be extracted. I'll miss it, but I can sure see why it had to go.
I don't think they get much larger than this. It's about the same size as the mother tree across the alley, which I assume is at maximum size since it hasn't grown appreciably since we moved in 40 years ago. The two in our yard, however, have increased massively in size.
They finally got the root ball loose from the ground but have been working all day trying to cut it into pieces that will fit in their dump truck! Willie finally cut the stump loose from the root ball with a chainsaw, but the intrepid manual laborers are still hacking away at the roots with pickaxes and shovels like 19th century gravediggers.
Silver maples are a treacherous tree, having the experience of one falling on our house back in 2007 during a storm with up to 100mph winds. The stump is still there, almost all now decayed.
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branchandroot
Wow!
Date: 2025-05-15 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-15 09:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-15 09:36 pm (UTC)I love trees and hate to kill one, but this one had become increasingly destructive. It's a silver maple that took root in a very awkward place about 45 years ago at the intersection of two property lines and the alley and proceeded to tear apart everything it could reach with its aggressive root system: the neighbors' parking pad, the adjacent alley, what was left of the kids' old sand pile, and Richard's carefully cultivated compost heap. The neighbors really wanted to replace their cracked and crumbling parking area, but couldn't do it unless the tree was removed. It finally occurred to me that if we took it out, not only could our elderly neighbors finally replace their cracked concrete before they died, we could have a parking pad too!
But it is pretty amazing how fast a silver maple can grow and how tenacious their root system is. Holy shit! The tree is gone now, but the landscaping service has been working all day trying to get that stump out. They finally knocked off for the day when the tornado sirens went off but are coming back tomorrow WITH A BIGGER EXCAVATOR.
What if they can't get it out??
no subject
Date: 2025-05-16 08:25 pm (UTC)P.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-16 10:39 pm (UTC)They finally got the root ball loose from the ground but have been working all day trying to cut it into pieces that will fit in their dump truck! Willie finally cut the stump loose from the root ball with a chainsaw, but the intrepid manual laborers are still hacking away at the roots with pickaxes and shovels like 19th century gravediggers.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-17 11:52 pm (UTC)Being able to fit a vehicle close by is a good remembrance.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-22 08:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-23 03:47 pm (UTC)