Shattering Trees

Chopping Trees

8.5" x 11"

pencil

Clean Up

8.5" x 11"

pencil

There was a terrible noise outside this morning. I thought it was the county tractors, mowing the roadside, but it sounded like it was also hitting something like a big pile of dirt or my mailbox. I went outside to see a tractor with blue fenders and an enclosed driver's space, with something like a big robot arm on it, smashing into the trees. It would move along, then back up, and come back again.

A white truck was following the tractor.

Soon, my daughter came home and told me that there were police cars everywhere, down the street, a sherrif's van, and even a bulldozer, while tree limbs were being cut away from the street.

I went out on the deck to watch, thinking this would be interesting to my grandson, and possibly I would have some sketches to do. But, huge wood chips, large twigs, and lots of leaves, were flying into the driveway and all over the front yard. I decided to watch from the door.

Soon, the van stopped in front of our house, and several men in uniforms started to pick up a few limbs in the street. One man picked up a large branch, with leaves, and was using it like a broom. They left suddenly, leaving lots of big branches in the ditch and the yard.

The van had a trailer behind it, full of branches. I decided that they must have left for lunch and to empty the trailer. Two hours later, they had not returned. Maybe it was too hot to be working outside.

I went out to the street to check the trees. I was horrified to see how the trees had been butchered. Limbs are exposed, shattered, and twisted, as if broken off in a tornado. The big limbs were gone, but large wood chips, smaller twigs, and lots of leaves are still all over the ditch and the front yard.

Isn't this the wrong time of the year to prune trees? And isn't this shredding bad for big oak trees, and smaller trees, too?

I thought that you trimmed trees and bushes in the fall.

I just hope that the trees don't die.

If their goal was to cut the trees back, why didn't they trim the tree that is hanging over the street, at the corner!

My grandson said that the lady next door was outside, watching the men as they worked. Maybe I should have gone out there and glared at them.

Instead, I just got my sketchbook and drew the activity.

Another neighbor is also concerned that they may have butchered the trees that they planted on their fenceline. She is at work, so couldn't go look. I would walk down to look for her, but I can't walk that far.

We did go look at the trees next door, and they too have some butchered limbs, but not as bad as our oak, live oak, china berry, and other trees along the road.

I hope they come back and finish trimming the trees correctly. And pick up the mess they made. Those twigs and wood chips would be terrible on a lawnmower and the person running it.

I took photos in case something happens to the trees. It's really sickening to look at what they did.

Well, at least when the school buses run next month, they can drive under the trees. Maybe that's why they did it. My daughter said they might be planning to widen our street. I don't know why they would do that. After all, it's a country road!

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