Death Row

This is one of the grand old trees in the Meadows, currently on Death Row.
The executioners came by yesterday with a saw and prepared it for the inevitable, but didn't provide a date for the final coup de grace.

It was looking very poorly this morning with its terminal Dutch Elm diseased leaves and skinned trunk as commuters on foot and on bikes passed without a second glance.

I wonder if the red number 15 denotes its place in the felling queue which makes it second to last as there are 16 altogether, and the numbers seem to be scattered randomly round the park.

Although there are assorted young trees being planted to replace the loss of the elms and also the loss to gale force winds of many cherry trees, the whole appearance of the pedestrian paths and wide tree lined avenues with their once dense canopy of foliage is changing.

 
Eventually, but not unfortunately in our lifetime, the new trees will mature and take over their role as guardians of this green lung in the centre of the city.