As you can see the three trees I took down after Hurricane Sandy were at the end of their life spans. I was worried that I would miss them and that my balcony would get too hot in the summer. They were hollow in the middle and had some sort of fungus. I decided to have them cut down for peace of mind after one of the giant trees in the woods came down and hit my balcony railing and grazed the house. I still get very nervous when there are high winds.
It has turned out so much better than I ever imagined because my wonderful view has opened up the big sky. I love sitting outside at night enjoying the stars. The angle of the sun is never too intense and the house ends up shading the balcony as the sun moves to the west after lunch. I had the stumps ground but I never planted grass seed. I'll seed the three bare spots in the fall and next year it will be perfect. I might transplant some clover that is growing in my gravel driveway for some instant ground cover that should spread nicely. I took the bottom photo just a few minutes ago on this fabulous Sunday morning. Tabitha got me up a few minutes after 6:00 so I put her outside with her food dish. Poor Webster had to wait for me to get up again to be fed. I went back to bed and didn't get up until 9:00. It was wonderful to sleep without a cat poking me to wake up. Enjoy this beautiful day.
I never want anything this awful to happen to my cottage ever again.
I was lucky. It could have been so much worse if the tree had been even one inch taller.
7 comments:
I love your view and star gazing from this vantage point would be tops! Enjoy your day too!
Elizabeth...
It is really dark around here since we don't have street lights so the stars really 'pop' at night. I love finding the constellations. I always walk Webster late at night too in order to enjoy the starry sky.
xo, Rosemary
Such a beautiful home you have Rosemary, I am glad it is safe from harm now x
i'm a sky watcher too.
i've always loved your balcony...
in the sun or in the rain.
one of my favorite photos of it is when it's wet with rain... and there's a pot of geraniums...
lovely.
Tammy J...
Thank you. I've been giving most of my energy to the front this year and it's looking the best it has ever looked since I moved. The balcony was scrubbed and cleaned and the furniture was put out but little else was done. I do have one geranium out there but it has no blooms. I'm enjoying it more since I moved the two long benches outside. It has a cleaner look this year.
xo, Rosemary
I know how you feel about the trees. I had an ash taken down that was dying, perhaps too soon, but I figured the ash borers would get it in the end. I had to have another tree trimmed away from the roof, so I figured I may as well have the other one cut down at the same time. It, as yours were, was quite close to the house. Trees can cause terrific damage to houses (and cars, which was the other definite target). I was glad I did it when Sandy blew through. I could rest a little tiny bit easier. You have plenty of room to plant some new trees to delight the eye.
I don't know about the clover. I think once you get it in there, you won't be able to get rid of it and the grass won't grow. Why not some annuals just for this year?
I had a cat many moons ago who would bite my toes to get me up in the morning. He knew how effective that was.
New to you blog; looking forward to exploring!
Rosemary,
It's a scary thought to have a tree come so close to doing damage to your deck and home. How nice your views are now and what a bonus, star gazing!
Karen
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