We have a Big Tree in our backyard (New England, USA). It’s technically on our neighbors property, but the tree makes up a good 5-6 foot part of the fence that divides our properties. From our yard (1st pic, husband for scale) it looks decently healthy, but when you look from the street side (2nd pic), it’s quite obviously rotting out from the inside (3rd).
We have been discussing with the neighbors about having it taken down. If it falls on its own it will 100% take our house, the neighbors house, and the business next door down with it. The Tree guy said it was the biggest tree he had ever seen, and that it would take at least two days just to cut this one tree down.
I won’t pretend I’m not heartbroken that this living (mostly) piece of history will be cut down. I’m sure it has been and is currently home to many different critters, but you can clearly see how rotted out it is in the close up photos. From one angle, you can actually see daylight through a hole in the rotted trunk (circled in the last picture). Trees do have an end of life, but that doesn’t make me any less sad to see this one go.
They identified it as a silver maple, which I had guessed but was excited to have confirmed. I’m hoping I can be there when it comes down, so we can count its rings and see just how old it is!
