Can you mourn a tree?

[mom2rtk]

I'm so sad. We've lived here for 35 years and by far my favorite time of the year is fall, when our neighbor's 2 massive maple trees turn our entire yard orange. Last night one of these massive 100 year old beauties fell over. Just fell over. I heard a cracking sound mid-day but didn't notice anything amiss. It was very windy, and it did rain hard for a short bit, but nothing too notable. This morning the neighbor told me it went down around 9 PM the night before. So glad nobody was hurt, but now I mourn the loss of what that tree brought to our street. Fingers crossed that they don't come find some issue with the other one next to it that's still standing.



The best I could come up with of these trees in their glory was in 2005:

 

[Southernmiss]

It was a beautiful tree.

I have mourned 3 trees.

A 200 year old pecan tree lived on my grandmother's yard. It was huge and had many years of plentiful pecans and generations of people whe enjoyed them. As kids, my cousins and I would hold hands and never could reach all the way around it. It finally had to come down.

We lost a maple tree in our yard after a hurricane. The kid's trampoline had been teathered to it years earlier and many hours of fun were had by all the kids in our neighborhood on that trampoline under the shade of the tree.

My mother in law lost a huge beautiful oak tree on her land. Dh and 2 of our kids and I spent a long weekend cleaning up what we could before she called a tree company to finish the job. Still miss it each time we visit.

 

[mom2rtk]

It was a beautiful tree.

I have mourned 3 trees.

A 200 year old pecan tree lived on my grandmother's yard. It was huge and had many years of plentiful pecans and generations of people whe enjoyed them. As kids, my cousins and I would hold hands and never could reach all the way around it. It finally had to come down.

We lost a maple tree in our yard after a hurricane. The kid's trampoline had been teathered to it years earlier and many hours of fun were had by all the kids in our neighborhood on that trampoline under the shade of the tree.

My mother in law lost a huge beautiful oak tree on her land. Dh and 2 of our kids and I spent a long weekend cleaning up what we could before she called a tree company to finish the job. Still miss it each time we visit.

Great memory of the 200 year old tree. Our neighbor across the street lost a 200 year old tree a few years back. Took out her garage but thankfully again, nobody hurt.

Maple trees are the worst to lose. They bring so much color every fall. And the shade is definitely hard to replace.

It's definitely a huge job when one of these large old trees goes down. The neighbors are holding to see if the city takes responsibility since it's outside the sidewalk. My dad planted a bunch of trees when we moved the house to its 8 acre lot in the 70's. Then in recent years he has had to take a bunch of them out.

I thought of some other trees I have mourned. We lost a red bud tree next to our driveway in an ice storm in 2002. I used to pull my car in right under it for perfect shade cover. More than 20 years later we still lack for shade. That spot still has a stump from the old tree so too hard to plant a new one in the same place.

I also mourned the loss of many mature beautiful oak trees on my daughter's college campus last year. They decided the trees had all lived their lives and it was time to start over. So going into her senior year all those mature shade trees were removed and replaced with tiny starters. Probably the safest plan, but I still mourned their loss. And my daughter sure missed the shade over the sidewalks.

2022:



2023:

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hug to all who have loved and cared for trees. Thank you, too for doing so. I have a special Christmas tree that would be heartbreaking to lose. Just a reminder to me to cherish the blessing of time with all I love and care for. Don't wait friends to tell someone you care, even a tree. Sweet dreams to all.

 

[Kitty 34]

Yes, you can mourn a tree. I have many maples in our yard so I know their beauty.

 

[kanerf]

I have a massive old oak tree in the backyard that has had several very large branches break off. I am concerned that a storm might come along and take the whole tree down, possibly damaging the house. The insurance company will pay for damages from the branches coming down like the last one that punched a hole in the roof of my backyard shed, but will not pay to have someone take off the branches that might come down next.

 

[Disneefun]

You absolutely can. I had a huge oak go down in my yard during a storm. It was the reason we chose this lot to build our house on! I still get a little sad when I go into the woods and see the stump, and when the light is brighter in the house during the summer because that massive canopy is gone.

Heck, I even mourn the trees others in our neighborhood have cut down or lost. This is a wooded subdivision and was touted as such when it was built. But over the years, some new neighbors have moved in and clear cut their lots. I cry every time. Why, do you buy a wooded lot if you don't want trees? Makes no sense to me and I try not to hate their guts over it!

 

[easyas123]

You all might like a documentary Judi Dench put out called My Passion for Trees. It's a great 1 hour doc on her love of trees.

 

[BrianL]

Absolutely. Trees are beautiful. I was mourning my pecan trees last year after a...miscommunication with a tree trimmer resulted in them being cut back very far. Fortunately, they do seem to be recovering, blooking leaves and growing some branches back. They will get there and I am lucky I didn't lose them, but, man, was I upset about it!

 

[greeneyedchick]

Yes, I have done so. I am sorry for your loss. They become part of our lives where we appreciate the shade or the watching the animals that gather on them, among many other benefits.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I grew up in a small town just down the street from my grandma. In her yard was a magnificent willow tree. In the summer the branches and leaves hung to the ground and made a great place to hide under, for games like hide and seek or just to sit and contemplate the world. That tree is long gone but I still think of it fondly.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I love trees too! My neighbor has a massive tree just feet from our shared property line. In late spring and summer, his tree shades my yard nicely! For that, I will pay the price of fall and spring leaf clean up!
You might find out the rxtra sunshine will brighten your day now instead.

side note;
the knob neighbor I have on my other side cut down a perfectly healthy large tree simply because he didn't want to rake. He's one of those guys that turns on his lawn mower almost EVERYDAY. He could have just mowed over them but NO!

 

[bobbiwoz]

In 1972, this tree was our Christmas tree. It was a balled tree and we gave it to our grandparents, who just bought this house in a retirement village. We planted it, and it thrived.

My DSis had lived in the house for many years now, and paid money to save it over many years, and finally it was cut down on March 14, 2023.



I asked for this piece and it is decomposing in our front yard. It reminds me of my family always, when I see it.


It certainly wasn’t as old as many of the trees talked about here, but it was alive for most of my life, and it was a loss for us all!

 

[mom2rtk]

In 1972, this tree was our Christmas tree. It was a balled tree and we gave it to our grandparents, who just bought this house in a retirement village. We planted it, and it thrived.

My DSis had lived in the house for many years now, and paid money to save it over many years, and finally it was cut down on March 14, 2023.
View attachment 852955


I asked for this piece and it is decomposing in our front yard. It reminds me of my my family always, when I see it.

View attachment 852956
It certainly wasn’t as old as many of the trees talked about here, but it was alive for most of my life, and it was a loss for us all!

I can tell it was a valued member of the family. So to speak.

 

[RangerPooh]

Yes. They provide beauty and shade. For some they provide a place to play or relax. You've watched it grow for years. So mourning a tree is reasonable.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I felt really sad when I saw the news story last week of that poor busted up cherry tree in DC that still managed one branch of beautiful cherry blossoms. It was removed to make way for a new one, but not until after the Japanese contingent who were delivering new cherry trees paid homage to it. I could have cried seeing that poor thing still blossoming. Reminded me of the Japanese proverb: Get knocked down seven times, get up eight times.

 

[tx911]

Ever seen the Survivor Tree at ground zero in NYC? Pretty neat.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

You can mourn a tree if it's name is Groot.



Or if you're an Ent.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Ever seen the Survivor Tree at ground zero in NYC? Pretty neat.

View attachment 853096

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/survivor-tree

I looked it up!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Yes, you can absolutely mourn a tree! I'm sorry that one has been lost - the pic is very pretty.