Spring Storms Bring The Drama!

This Spring season in Seattle has been slightly bizarre... storms which seem to be more in line with the Fall season - filled with the drama of strong winds and torrential downpours. A few weeks ago, Seattle had a 24 hour wind and rain storm pass through - complete with impressive thunder and lightning and miniature pellets of hail!
My neighborhood was hit hard with the winds and rain, and at times it sounded like a train station outside of my front door. The Big Leaf Maples were swaying and bending their thick trunks to a spectacular degree and dropping branches all around the ravine below my house. I had to force myself to stay inside even though the view up into the canopy was fascinating from below, it was dangerous out there!
That same night I was watching the local news at 11pm when I realized there was a live report going on a few blocks away! The reporter was being held back by yellow police caution tape and exclaiming dramatically about the 100 year old Elm tree that was leaning at a precarious angle towards one of the most beautiful brick mansions on Capitol Hill (Full disclosure: I walk by this house just to walk by it, and dream of living here.). The family who lived here was out of town and unreachable, and crews were trying to figure out how to proceed without input from the homeowner... but they had to act fast or it would surely mean an unpleasant demise to the front facade of the house! I was on the edge of my seat and could see in the screen that the sidewalk curb was buckling upwards from the force of the root ball pulling up and leaning into the house.Somehow, I managed to get to sleep later that night, but the next morning I was up bright and early to go explore the streets and look in on the Elm situation a few blocks away. I walked as far as I could go and was standing behind the yellow caution tape when a man walked up next to me to check on the situation - "Ah, a fellow neighborhood busybody..." I thought to myself. We talked about the tree and the house and then to my surprise, he divulged that he used to be the gardener at this house. I was very happy to meet him and just about to launch into a dozen questions and exclamations when he waved in the direction of the house, ducked under the tape, and shook the hand of a tall handsome man wearing a fancy suit and lawyer rain jacket. I stood around a few minutes, hoping the gardener would remember me and invite me over, then we would all become best friends forever and I could move into the carriage house and spend my seasons living the good life in the house behind my dream house...
... but that didn't happen. I walked around the block to look at the tree from a different angle. These huge trees are a part of some of our oldest neighborhood landscapes in Seattle, and they are going the way of the dinosaur. Elms can have a lifespan of up to 300 years, but Dutch Elm disease has shortened that span, and the ecology of the curbside location doesn't necessarily make for the most hospitable of conditions for this large majestic tree. Our cities have conducted studies and research, they've put together guidelines and been working to see that our urban forest might work in concert with our infrastructure as much as possible. I appreciate these efforts, but am sad to think that someday, these big old 90' Elms will be replaced by trees that top out at 35' - 40'. Thank goodness for our public parks and forests - large trees will always have a place there!

Here is a link to the City of Seattle's street tree recommendation list. My favorites from the list are the Paperbark Maple and the Eastern Redbud.