Quote Originally Posted by billrick View Post
Too Tall -

That Dawn Redwood reference led me to some fascinating Google reading. Thanks for that. Now I want to plant one in the tiny backyard of my townhouse, as sort of a practical joke with a 100-year lead time.

On a related note, I've been meaning to start a blog called "Bad NPS Arborist." I ride the Mt. Vernon trail to work, which runs along the GW Parkway next to the Potomac River. It is (mis)managed by the National Park Service. In the last five years they have cut down at least ten MASSIVE oaks in the park, trees that could have been saved. We are talking stumps with a 5 to 8 foot diameter. It looks like they have a low-bid contractor that takes care of the arborist work. They do plant seedlings for future growth, but then they forget to water them and they turn into dry vertical sticks.

As I rode in this morning, I saw them in a cherry picker with a chainsaw next to another beautiful tree. I thought they were just trimming dead limbs, but then the worker kept moving on up the live green limb, sectioning it up and dropping it below. I expect to find a new stump on the way home.

Other than kids and animals, no abuse makes me more angry than the abuse of a beautiful tree.

Take an road trip to nearby Washington Grove to reinvigorate your soul. That is an community that lives with their trees. Very impressive.