Buckeye Blues

buckeye tree

This morning we had a sense of deja vu. A little before 6:00 a.m. a crashing noise woke us up, eerily similar to Good Friday of this year. St. Louis has been inundated with rain for over a week, and we are in the backlash of Tropical Storm Bill right now. Today's victim was our old buckeye tree (aka horse chestnut). This tree was designated a Webster Groves Tree of Distinction several years ago as it is somewhat unique to this area, and because of its beautiful shape.

The buckeye tree is the one we were most concerned about when our neighbor began construction last year to cut in a new circular drive very near it. These old trees cannot handle the stress of having their roots cut. Additionally, he built a new porch this year, which brought heavy equipment onto the site. Both trees that have fallen this year were near the construction zone. Unfortunately, just like last time, the tree landed on a neighbor's car. Normally they don't park their car in that spot on the street, but as luck would have it, it was in the wrong place at the wrong time this morning.

Because of the size of the buckeye, the bed under it was all planted with shade-loving perennials. I am not sure how many were destroyed, but the remaining ones will need to be relocated quickly. If the rain ever stops.

The silver lining in all this, I guess, is that the police responded quickly to close the street. They also called the public works department, and the men removed what is blocking the street. Since that is most of the tree, that will be a huge cost savings for us. No power lines were pulled down, but a couple of neighbors are without their phone/Internet service right now.

It is never easy to lose a big, shade-providing tree in your yard. But this one was especially painful to see tumble.

buckeye blooming in May, 2015

 

"The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more."

   - Ralph Waldo Emerson