I see these live oaks in peoples front yards around West U that are 20-25 years old and I just wonder WTF they were thinking. What do they think will happen in another 20-30 years?
They can cut down a 100 year old tree but they can't implode the rats nest that is the Astrodome. Just Houston things.
That tree was awesome. The first apartment my then-girlfriend, now-wife shared was just on the other side of W. Alabama from The Menil Campus. Loved going over there to relax on a nice day. This seriously bummed me out when I heard.
I hope they build a gas station or vape shop on that space. There is literally no place to get gasoline on that street.
Those live oaks are a b****. I bought a house with a couple of those on my property. I had them removed. They are great when they are immature but, once they get big, f**k that! I've wasted countless hours of my life on cleaning up after those beasts when they shed their acorns. It just gets worse and worse every year. Something had to be done! Plus, all the damn pruning!
Got struck by lightening 10 years ago and has been slowly dying off since. The city determined it was becoming a hazard as it couldn't safely support its own weight anymore so they ordered it removed.
From the article: The city forester told the Menil that the tree was a “public safety hazard” and advised them to cut it down, said Tommy Napier, assistant director of communications at the Menil. The tree was struck by lightning 10 years ago, and the museum’s arborists had been monitoring it ever since because it experienced “irreparable damage,” Napier said. As much as community members loved to sit, climb and play on the tree limbs, it was prior damage that caused the tree to deteriorate over time, Napier said.
Bad luck. Something like that can happen to a tree, and eventually the tree will come down for one reason or another. At the last place we owned, we had a deep backyard that sloped down to a creek, with huge pecan trees towards the back of the lot. On both sides our neighbors had similar lots that also had huge pecans. One neighbor had a 75 foot tall pecan just on their side of the fence. It had a large blackened hole on one side from a lightening strike, which worried me enough to talk to the neighbor about it. They didn't do anything to "save the tree" (doubt it could be saved), but also didn't have it cut down. About a year later, a tornado came roaring over the house around 3am (and yes, they sound like a freight train), scaring the hell out of us. Didn't touch ground, thank goodness. The next morning, we woke up and thought to look out our window at the backyard to see if there was any damage. We found ourselves staring at the top of our neighbor's pecan tree. It was blown down across the fence and so close to our house that the leaves brushed against it. Trees can be a freaky thing.
Really? That does make sense but I know nothing about the situation. Did they try to brace it, take care of the root system, feed it? I miss that tree, sad to think that it's not still there.
I'm just regurgitating what an article on the subject mentioned. Apparently the museum had a tree expert trying to extend the life as much as possible, but kind of messed up by not fencing it off after it was damaged. Apparently it sustained quite a bit of damage from vandals, people that didn't know any better, and dumb kids over the years...people would continually peel off the bark around the damage, try to skateboard on the roots, spray painted around the "wound" which all hastened the death of the tree. But yes, the city did enforce the removal as it had died off to the point of being unsustainable and could blow over or fall with strong winds.
