What Was That??

August 2013

 

When a tree falls in your backyard...you hear it.  While working in my kitchen I heard a huge crash and rushed to our back porch.  Laying across half our backyard was a huge branch from our pine tree.  It was a miracle it didn't hit: our fence, our neighbors garage, our new porch, or any of our new landscaping.  So for that, happy dance. Everything else about this story will be a crushing defeat.

The only clear picture I have of the pine tree. 

Background: Since 2010 the large ponderosa pine tree in the far corner of our backyard had been dropping large limbs and tons of sap.  This was no prized specimen; instead it had a listless tilt and an affection for dropping large sharp needles and small deadly pinceones. But, for all it's quasimodo qualities it blocked unsightlier things: our neighbors horrible cinder block garage wall, our other neighbors large sea foam green addition and provided a nice amount of shade for part of the year.  I will also add, that we had used it's huge bushiness (I am making that a word) to hide a bunch of stuff that we had been hoarding since we cleared out the South side of the house.  There were branches, stones, pots and even a large rotting railroad tie.

Note its lovely bend and now bare open midsection

The timing of the branch fall was poor.  We had just finished our porch, we had a large house party scheduled in a little over a month, and we were exhausted. I called out a couple tree companies and the agreement was the tree had to go.  It was about 40 years old which is the average life span for a ponderosa pine.  I was told it would most likely continue to drop large limbs to the danger of structures, humans, and wildlife. I thought about leaving the tree, until after our house party and then taking it down in the fall. That would have worked except I am a worry wart.  I knew everytime it got windy or rainy or anything other then perfect weather I would imagine the tree uprooting and taking out my house, killing Gus, and causing my neighbors to sue me.

 

 

We got a quote to remove the tree for $400, as a bonus they were willing to remove the horrible juniper tree in the corner of the front yard and grind out the stump. Deal.  So three weeks after 'the event' I came home to this in my backyard.  

Well hello sea foam house... have you always been there?

Good god was my neighbors house that BIG? Did all their windows look right at us? Was that cinderblock wall really that ugly before? It was about 90 degrees and the backyard was sweltering hot. There were tears, there were regrets. But the tree was gone and now I owned this delicious piece of backyard real estate... now what?



This is the big gray monster, Portland's answer to Boston.