Thank God!!

[slick]

I want to bump this up because this tree means so much to Gini and it looks like she will be losing it in a couple of weeks. She tried so hard to save it.

Trees can become family when you've loved them for so long. Sending giant {{{hugs}}} for you and the tree Gini.

Karen, any chance this could be moved to the General Section so everyone can read it?

[Karen]

Okay, I'll move it, will Gini update us on the situation?

[Catty1]

Oh, Gini - say it ain't so!!!

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Oh, Gini - say it ain't so!!!

Ditto!

Not only will Gini's home and backyard never be the same, the entire neighborhood will never be the same!

[RICHARD]

http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_6....dailynews.com

[gini]

Have you ever loved a tree? When I moved into my home my Norwegian Maple was just a teenager. I could wrap my arms around its trunk and hug it. I loved this tree the moment I saw it. Over the years it has given me so much relief in the summer from the heat with its glorious branches and leaves.

A wind blown virus/fungus - that is what the tree doctor told me happened.

We have tried so hard to save it with expensive treatments and trimming.

This week it was scheduled to have another treatment and the tree doctor gave me my bad news. It is deteriorating rapidly in the interior and the fungus is spreading upwards now into the upper branches.

There is a large hole where I lost the major branch last year and he could put his screwdriver clear through it showing me how soft it is.

So now it is becoming dangerous so it needs to be removed. Can I share with you that I sat down and cried?

My backyard will be bare - my orchids are going to hate the blazing sun - as they have thrived under the tree's canopy.

Sure I can replace it - he already told me that a crane would cost anywhere from $700.00 - $900.00 PER HOUR to bring in a new tree. That doesn't include of course, the cost of a new tree or their costs to plant it properly.

If you have some trees on your property - especially ones that you love - go out and give it a hug.

Thanks for listening.

[Randi]

Oh Gini, I'm SO sorry to hear your wonderful tree can't be saved. Your back garden will look so different without it and you'll miss the shade of course.

It's a lot of money to get a new tree, but I hope you can get one somehow.

((((hugs))))

[Russian Blue]

Have you ever loved a tree?.................
If you have some trees on your property - especially ones that you love - go out and give it a hug.

Oh, I do know how important trees are! We have owned our cottage for over 70 years and I have certain one's that I call 'my' trees.

My grandmother planted one of my favourite trees when my mother was born. It was literally, the perfect tree, reaching high up to the sky in perfect form. I always considered it 'my' tree. We had to cut it down last year because of an insect infestation and it still hurts when I look over to that spot and only see the stump. It also makes me sad, since I lost my grandmother back when I was 16 and that tree was especially cherished.

We have so much history on that property and the trees are certainly a part of that history as well. (((Hugs))) to you - I totally know what it feels like to lose an important part of your surroundings.

[crow_noir]

*HUGS*

I lost two of some of my best friends when my parents sold their house. The people that moved in cut down ALL of the trees on the property. I cried on and off for days.

I grew up in that house and those trees really were like friends. They were there to greet me whenever I returned home.

[crow_noir]

OMG, that's horrible!!!

Thousand Oaks woman stumped by missing tree

[Karen]

Gini, when the workers come to remove the tree, ask them to save part of it for you. Even a slice, sanded down, depending on size can be made a table, or a clock, or a branch can be saved and something made from it, depending on th size and shape. Footstool - pencil holder - bracelt - something in between ... . I don't know how "hard" the wood is, and if it is rotted in the middle, that would make the "slice" more of a problem, but even a branch like Dad saved for me will be a bit of a friend to keep and save.