I am always disappointed at the degree of ambivalence that trees generate. Many people appreciate them, and some even recognise their vital environmental value, but most seem to get decidedly twitchy about having anything green that grows over six feet tall anywhere near their own properties!
Please believe me, I do hear and can understand the various issues, but am sadly convinced that apart from any obvious, direct risk factors, all other considerations are more simply a matter of opinion?! I do wish folk might learn to be a bit more tolerant, especially of indigenous species, and be prepared to leave the wretched trees alone?!
My heart sinks every time I hear a chain saw.
Now having made my own opinion abundantly clear, I will now confess that I have something of a problem:
Almost forty years ago, when we first moved into our little terraced, Suffolk town house, the attached "gardens" were still open allotment grounds with the boundaries of individual plots mostly unmarked and informal. There were a couple of old boys that shared working ours and some others on either side. Although they didn't pay rent, we enjoyed a generous share of their produce in lieu - and I saw no reason to change those agreeable arrangements for the time being! Sadly, several new "first time buyers" purchasing neighbouring properties did not share my relaxed view however, and the diggers were quickly evicted. The last man declared he was fed up as it was "no longer worth his while traipsing halfway across town just to do yours"! Before he left, he showed me a stump next to the tumble-down shed where an old elder tree had been growing and annoying him with it's spreading roots. He said that after cutting the tree down to the ground he had tried to dig it out, but the hard clay subsoil had completely defeated him.
"Good luck if you want to take the garden on yourself as you'll find all the b****y roots still in there - but at least they're dead... I gave it a soaking in poison as well!"
Following his departure I took the opportunity to build myself a studio and workshop on the site of the original tool shed - taking care to avoid the awkward stump. Barely a year later, and to my utter amazement, the rotting tree stump began to sprout healthy looking shoots! I decided to leave it - reasoning that after so much torture, it had earned it's right to survive?!
So I let it be.
The concrete foundation pad that will be Mr. T's "station" is all that remains of that much missed studio, but the elder has thrived - rather too much so!
I did some research on the subject of Elder trees, and discovered that by consensus, they
can live up to sixty years. I have also noticed that ours is not only notably taller than average, there is some worrying evidence that the beast is weakening in places. As a result of it's near demise, the tree doesn't have a single, main, vertical trunk, but several radial and frighteningly non perpendicular ones! If any or either of them fail in the near future, their sheer weight could do some terrible damage?!
Before even considering starting work on the station, I thought it would be wise to consult with and request the assistance of Mr. O.?!
I never, ever thought that I would be directly, or indeed even willingly responsible for the sound of one of those wretched, petrol driven chain saws...?
During a break, I felt just brave enough for a last opportunity to take a caterpillar's eye view on the (securely tied!) scaffold tower!
Bit by bit, down the boughs fell...
Rather a lot of it ended up in our next door neighbour's garden... but at least in a controlled manner!
While I really regret having to do this dreadful thing, and particularly at the wrong time of year in terms of the eco system, I can now at least take comfort knowing that everyone will be reasonably safe when enjoying themselves on the railway.
I can now start clearing and preparing the site in earnest - although I will sorely miss the most welcome shade that the old giant provided us.
"Perchance it is not dead.." though? We have left quite a bit of foliage on the lower trunks, so hopefully she may yet return?!
Pete.
