Signs of Life

Caleb with Mountain Tree Care said our neighbor’s tree just might make it.

A couple of weeks ago Caleb with Mountain Tree Care met me at the remnants of our house to take a look at some of our trees. I had marked a few of them thinking they might be viable. Caleb investigated looking for signs of life; a supple branch, little to no burning on the trunk, grass or pine needles still identifiable at the base. Two of the three trees I’d marked failed the test. Caleb said they might leaf out in the Spring. But much of that process borrows from energy stored by the tree before it goes dormant in the winter. New leaves don’t necessarily mean the tree is able to draw in new energy. And if we left suspect trees in place we’d have to suffer through watching them slowly die in the summer.

Who needs more suffering?

Our Linden tree is going to make it.

So we’re going to leave this Linden in place. It’s the one tree that passed the test. And it’ll be nice to reboot our house with a mature tree in place.

After looking at our’s, Caleb walked across the street and looked at our neighbor’s yard. He thinks they have at least three trees that will make it, too, including one gorgeous Maple that turns a lurid amber-red for two weeks every Fall, and one tiny tree pictured above.

There is life in our neighborhood after all.

Cooper’s helping rebuild.

And speaking of life, people are declaring their plans to bring their lives back to the neighborhood. Builders have signaled their intent to work with property owners they’ve contracted with. Cooper’s one prominent builder.

Design Build’s helping too.

Design Build is another builder helping people come back home. We don’t have a sign in front of our house yet. But our process is in motion. We met with our designer last week, and we’re delighted with what she’s come up with.

More on that soon.