Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those tree-hugging hippy types, but I always find it profoundly sad when a tree is cut down. I don’t know why. Maybe it is because trees are the ultimate biological representation of the passage of time, from tiny acorns to giant oaks, etc. Maybe it is because the removal of a tree has an important impact on the local ecology.
Take our nearby neighbours. He has three trees in his garden. Through the bullying of his next-door neighbour, he has cut one of them down himself and today, the biggest tree of the trio was gone. This tree is home and perching place to hundreds of birds: sparrows, starlings, wood pigeons – we even had a cuckoo in the locality. All those birds will be gone.

Here today…

Gone tomorrow…
The Missus remarked that she’s already seen a couple of doves circling the area where the missing tree once stood. Obviously they are confused and can’t figure out where their nests have gone.
Oh well, that’s 50+ years gone in a couple of hours and by the swing of a chainsaw…

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