Farewell to a Beloved Tree Row

I am a lover of trees. I have shared photos and stories on these pages about the trees I have loved. The trees usually bring me great joy. On this day, they broke my heart.

Late last week, a friend of mine - a fellow photographer - shared some sad news. The tree row along the eastern side of the lane to the president's house, near the Arboretum, had been cut down. He did not have details beyond that. I couldn't believe the news.

So Monday morning, with the cold wind whipping flurries into my face, I stopped by to investigate. And above is a picture of the scene that I saw: big machines, chewing up "my" trees!

My first response was to shout, "Stop it! Put DOWN that tree!" But that would be like trying to pull a dead mouse out of your cat's mouth. The mouse is already dead, and putting it down won't help resurrect it. (You COULD, however, put it in a yard cart and take it out among the trees; see yesterday's tale.) Anyway, "my" trees are dead and gone.

For years, I thought they were elm trees. But they are not. They are Norway maples. In the fall, they turn a glorious golden yellow, and it's like catnip to a girl like me: I must take my camera, and go and see. But no more. In this lifetime, this lane will NEVER look the way it did, ever again. And so I grieve.

But I also am an inquisitive sort of person, and I DEMAND accountability for the trees. Fortunately, I work at a University where they have lots of tree people involved in all of these kinds of decisions. So I wrote an email note to the person in Physical Plant that I thought would be the main contact, and shockingly enough, that gentleman replied within a half-hour.

His helpful email explained the reasons why they took this action, and they are all good and valid reasons, which include the following:

*The species of trees was not native, and is considered "an exotic invasive species with poor structure." 
*Larger branches from the trees have been dropping down on the neighbors, and have had to be removed.
*Smaller native trees that have been interspersed among the old guard of trees need more light to grow; more native trees will be planted along the lane over time.
*The lane has to be widened and repaved for bigger events that will be happening there, with the expansion of the Arboretum and the building of an Art Museum on the grounds.

I am fully convinced that they did their homework. They talked to all of the neighbors and the Borough to make sure everyone was kept informed of their plans. They had a dialogue with the surrounding neighborhood. It was done the right way.

Rational Me gives the gentleman who replied a 9.5 on his response. The information he shared was thorough. Perhaps sensing my distress, he replied quickly. His note had perfect grammar and punctuation. His reasons were all valid. His tone was good, and helpful. But I'd give him a full 10.0 if he'd JUST GIVE ME BACK MY TREES!

Fortunately, as I have been absolutely OBSESSED with this tree row for the past - oh, 30 years or so - I have tons of photos of these trees, and now I need to find a way to appropriately memorialize them. I am thinking of how best to do that. In the meantime, I mourn my trees.

So here is a song for the grieving, of which I am one. Now I have yet another reason to cry: I miss my trees.

The soundtrack song is Peter Gabriel's I Grieve. Music starts around 1:10.

Cry if you want to: I did.

Bonus links to pictures of "my" tree row in happier days:
A Bluebird Afternoon
Tree Row and Fence in the Mist
If Klimt Had a Tree Row
The Tree Row and the Big Blue Fence (the last blip-photo of "my" trees)