It was a sad day yesterday. The three giant ash trees who stood sentinel along with the basswood and oak trees in front of my house finally succumbed to the dreaded ash borer disease. My biodiversity students know about borers, as do the woodpeckers who excavate through bark to get at them. The larvae feed on the water (and nutrient) transportation system beneath the bark, cutting off this essential component for photosynthesis. The branches could no longer produce leaves, so the trees 'tried' to compensate by producing branchlets around the base of the tree where there was no damage yet. But, eventually, the trees could not survive.
I'm sad because they provided lovely shade during the summer and allowed glorious sunshine through the windows in the wintertime. But, dead trees can cause great damage to a house, so they had to go. There will be a few unhappy squirrels who used these trees as their 'high'way around the house to avoid Darcy. Fortunately there were no dreys in or on the trees.
Below is a picture of the 3 big trees furthest left, and then another picture of the devastation when they were felled. As with all negatives, there is always a positive - LOTS of firewood to keep me warm next winter. For more pictures and some spectacular video showing slow motion crashes as they came down, go to this link.
I'm sad because they provided lovely shade during the summer and allowed glorious sunshine through the windows in the wintertime. But, dead trees can cause great damage to a house, so they had to go. There will be a few unhappy squirrels who used these trees as their 'high'way around the house to avoid Darcy. Fortunately there were no dreys in or on the trees.
Below is a picture of the 3 big trees furthest left, and then another picture of the devastation when they were felled. As with all negatives, there is always a positive - LOTS of firewood to keep me warm next winter. For more pictures and some spectacular video showing slow motion crashes as they came down, go to this link.