A Sad Loss

Yesterday, we mourned the loss of a dear friend. I refer to an 80ft hickory tree in our yard. Sadly it had died last Fall and although we put off having it felled, it was too near our house to risk leaving nature to do the work for us.

You may wonder why I call a tree a friend? Let me tell you that my native Norfolk, England, has witnessed the disappearance of trees at an alarming rate over the past half century. Few homes, even in the countryside, have the abundance of trees that we are fortunate enough to enjoy here in North Carolina. Modern farming methods dictated the removal of many small woods and copses and just as importantly, hedgerows. This had a devastating effect on wildlife and it is only comparatively recently that the importance of this is being widely recognized. The mighty storms of 1987 contributed to the loss with thousands of established specimens felled by nature's wrath in 24 hours. Add to this the scourge of Dutch Elm disease and a huge percentage of natural woodland was effected.

Our time in near treeless southern Spain made us realize how much we missed trees. So on our first visits to North Carolina we were enthralled at the amount of woodland. My cousin, on her first visit here from England, commented on arrival at RDU that she was amazed at the greenery and trees she saw from the windows of her aircraft on it's approach.

We still have a large number of trees in the yard and I have negotiated with our friendly tree doctor for some of those to receive "surgery" in the Fall to help manage and preserve them.

Our dear old hickory - probably ninety years in the making - was felled and cleared in less than ninety minutes. Yes, I love trees!