Neighborhood Watch
Last night, as husband and I were on a neighborhood walk with the boy, we were musing about all the beautiful tree lined streets in the area where we live. Although not notable during the winter without leaves, in the summer around here there is this beautiful green canopy along the boulevards that provide nice shade and a great neighborhood feel. I love how this gives the area where we live a historic and established vibe and the trees are just plain beautiful to look at.
Sadly, now both the Ash and Elm trees are falling victim to strains of fungal diseases that spread quickly along neighborhood blocks. As the trees are cut down, massive stumps, with diameters of up to 4 feet are left behind on boulevards leaving an unsightly bare spot along the street.
As we were walking, I noticed that these stumps a few blocks from our house had recently been ground up into mulch. Although the stump was still there, it was just cut away until there was a trench about 2 feet deep where soil could be filled in and grass will eventually grow. I was so interested in this (many of the crevices were really big and I was curious how they were cut up) and was delighted to see new trees planted near the old stumps.
Today when Benji and I returned home from meeting a friend for coffee, I saw this truck pull up with what looked like a giant saw blade in front of our house. I realized with excitement that it was going to grind up the huge, ugly stump (with millions of suckers growing out of it) across the street. This is the sort of stuff I love to watch!
The guy driving the truck got out and with a remote control (fun!) guided the saw blade into the stump. It was amazing (and great fun) to stand out in the yard and watch this massive tree implement kick up dirt, grass, and tiny pieces of wood from the stump site! The noise was terrific, the dust was being blown all over, and the force with which that blade dug into the wood and dirt was breath-taking.
The whole episode made me wonder who designs tools like that (brillant) and if in another life I was meant to be a landscaper...
Sadly, now both the Ash and Elm trees are falling victim to strains of fungal diseases that spread quickly along neighborhood blocks. As the trees are cut down, massive stumps, with diameters of up to 4 feet are left behind on boulevards leaving an unsightly bare spot along the street.
As we were walking, I noticed that these stumps a few blocks from our house had recently been ground up into mulch. Although the stump was still there, it was just cut away until there was a trench about 2 feet deep where soil could be filled in and grass will eventually grow. I was so interested in this (many of the crevices were really big and I was curious how they were cut up) and was delighted to see new trees planted near the old stumps.
Today when Benji and I returned home from meeting a friend for coffee, I saw this truck pull up with what looked like a giant saw blade in front of our house. I realized with excitement that it was going to grind up the huge, ugly stump (with millions of suckers growing out of it) across the street. This is the sort of stuff I love to watch!
The guy driving the truck got out and with a remote control (fun!) guided the saw blade into the stump. It was amazing (and great fun) to stand out in the yard and watch this massive tree implement kick up dirt, grass, and tiny pieces of wood from the stump site! The noise was terrific, the dust was being blown all over, and the force with which that blade dug into the wood and dirt was breath-taking.
The whole episode made me wonder who designs tools like that (brillant) and if in another life I was meant to be a landscaper...
posted by KLOU | 7:51 PM
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