Trees

Why is it that people buy houses in old neighborhoods and then cut down the beautiful old trees in the yards? 

My preschool principal used to live on the block over from my house.  She recently sold her house, and the people that moved in immediately hired a crew to cut down the sixty year old tree in the front yard.  The majestic tree provided a canopy for the house and a sanctuary for the birds that visited each day.  A local flock of parrots used to play in the tree every day during the summer months.  Now the tree is nothing more than a bunch of logs in the front yard.

The house behind my sister’s house sold recently, and the new owners approached us about the tree in the backyard.  The tree has been there since before my parents bought the house in the 1970s.  What the new owners didn’t know is that the tree is actually on their property, but the old owners tried to cover it up by moving the fence so that they didn’t have to deal with it.  Now that this truth has been exposed, they plan to cut down the tree this Saturday.  I think it’s a travesty.  This tree bears bright purple berries that are a favorite for the local bird populations, and with the unseasonably warm weather, I fear that some of the birds have already built their nests.  The towering tree will be no more after Saturday.  It’s very sad.

I remember reading the book The Giving Tree and reading how the boy kept taking whatever the tree offered until she was nothing more than a stump.  I feel bad for people who can’t see the beauty in trees, especially old ones, and who have no qualms reducing those trees to stumps to suit their needs.

RIP, trees.