On Monday, Feb. 27, some of the limbs of this large valley pine had been taken off.
Back in December, Albany’s city forester posted a sign announcing the planned felling of a large pine in the 200 block of southeast Harrison Street. The century-old tree had become too big for its location, and now it is gone.
I had noticed the sign on Dec. 7. The tree was on the corner of Harrison and Front, which is on my regular riverfront bike route to the east end of old Albany.
A few weeks later the sign was gone and I wondered whether somebody had changed his mind. No, I learned, it was just a matter of delay.
The tree, a valley pine, was crowding the house next to it, pushing against one corner of the structure. Rick Barnett, the parks official who doubles as the city forester, told me at the time there was no way to prevent damage to the house and save the tree too.
Last Monday afternoon the work of taking down the huge tree had begun. Lines were rigged in the crown, and some of the big limbs were gone.
When I went by again Friday, the crew of Albany-based Corvallis Tree and Lawn Care had finished the job, and only the stump was left.
Brandon Pfeil was working on cleaning the site. He could not be sure of the tree’s exact age but said he had counted at least 116 tree rings.
The tree evidently started growing near the start of the 20th century, shortly after the house was built at 1442 Front Ave. The homeowners told the tree service crew their house was built in the 1880s.
The Willamette Neighborhood has many trees. This one was particularly big. Too bad it was too close to a house. (hh)
It took skill and finesse to get those big limbs down without hitting the house or anything else.
The next time I rode past the scene, this was the stump that was left.
Brandon Pfeil was raking up sawdust on Friday. He had counted 116 rings on the big valley pine.
This is a perfect example of why conifer forest trees should be left in the forest and not planted in urban environments, near powerlines, or adjacent to roadways. Lots of nice natives to consider that are beautiful, including yew if you don’t like raking leaves.
It was lucky this didn’t fall or shed major limbs in a storm. In addition to the safety risk involved, the increasing damage to the house, and the debatable aesthetics, it’s quite possible the living roots of this tree have damaged sidewalks, roadways, building foundations and/or sewage systems over its life.
I suggest a native rhododendron or two, vine maple, or wildflower garden as replacement. Only occasional minor weeding or pruning needed — cheap, attractive to look at, climate adjusted, and rarely need watering.
Because the tree worked so hard for so many decades, converting human waste (CO2) into life-giving oxygen…perhaps the truly wise thing to have happened is that the house which was crowding the tree should have been the thing cut down and destroyed. This sad story, when considered against the continuing global warming and species extinction background, clearly demonstrates the simple mindedness of humanity.
There is no global warming, especially in Oregon, so use the phrase climate change so you can’t be proven wrong. Too bad the house wasn’t owned by you so you could have torn it down. LOL-all hat and no cattle.
well how about you prove global warming is not happening in oregon
because that quite a statement
Jeez, Hartman: Talk about simple mindless. You actually think trees “work” at anything, much less “work hard?” I can see why you don’t use your actual name on this nonsense. The “truly wise” thing to do might be to keep your thoughts to yourself instead of opening yourself up to public ridicule. Unsolicited advice on my part, but a reasonable suggestion you might want to consider. Good luck!
Mission accomplished.
Ahhh,
The writer known as Hartman pens a conflation of thoughts just to provoke a response.
If God knows Hartman’s true thoughts, He ain’t saying
Trees should not solely carry the burden of limiting CO2, especially the accelerated levels humankind is producing just now.
CO2 is the building block of life. It doesn’t control the weather or the climate — the sun, oceans, water vapor, and topography all greatly exceed carbon dioxide by magnitudes when it comes to effects on climate. The political science that created this scam has been costly — not only economically, but in the degradation of science education and resulting dumbing down of our citizens. China and Africa know better and haven’t fallen for this nonsense.
Garbage.
The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere goes all the way back to the late 1800’s when science first began CO2. Early on they realized that CO2 had an ability to absorb heat, in a way that the other atmospheric constituents such as Nitrogen, Oxygen and the other principle gases do not. It was observed science and filed away in the understanding of atmospheric physics.
No one even began to think of what was to come.
If you want to hold out China and Africa as the key people Americans should be looking for for verifiable scientific information, you might as well tell them to look to the Cartoon Network as their source of scientific information.
Here’s a MUCH better source of REAL information, not just ultra-conservative nonsense dreams:
https://climate.nasa.gov/
Hi Bob: Thanks for using your (hopefully) real name. First, I am a certified non-voting Libertarian, not an “ultra-conservative dreamer.” Second, I did not hold China and Africa as “key people” holding “verifiable scientific information.” I did it because they have not bought into this scam for increasing government control. China because they continue to build coal-fired electrical plants at an alarming rate, even though they have the exact same scientific data as we do and aren’t at all alarmed; Africa because it continues to need reliable electricity and petroleum products in order to alleviate poverty and should be given them.
So far as NASA having “REAL information,” that is your opinion. There is still snow on Kilimanjaro, Florida is still above water, and the drought has largely ended in California.
There are many, many scientists –atmospheric and otherwise — who don’t agree with you. My field is historical ecology, with a focus on forest history. Our current climate is about the same as it has been in the Pacific Northwest for the past 7,000+ years. We are not in a crisis, and CO2 doesn’t affect “global temperature” — which is a number only recently invented following the establishment of satellites.
“What was to come” involves the greatest numbers, food supplies, technical, and communications advances ever. By far. We are a very lucky people living in one of the greatest regions in history and should be counting our blessings. Not shrieking in fear over an essential, invisible, odorless gas that is a minute fraction of our atmosphere. You can believe what you want, though.
you might want to see about a refund on your education
Thanks Bob Z. The hysteria exhibited by Woods/Hartman just means they bought the coolaid. OF course NASA would not distort the truth–neither did Fauci, CDC, FBI, DOJ,
Dems Jan6th hearing, spotted owls only survive in old growth, anti nuc power, systemic racism is rampant, gender change advocates, public school are wonderful—too long to continue. Once they drink it–addict–no way to help, rationality exits.
BZ
Gadfrey
Carbon dioxode is NOT directly a building block.
Plants possess a mechanism to process Co2 by “collecting” the carbon and using it to build their structure, while releasing oxygen as a byproduct.
So, whence comes CO2? Basically, combustion — fire, rot (including composting) , an exhalation of all of the organisms that populate this orb.
The balance between emission and capture began with the “Industrial Revolution”.
Along came the automotive revolution, industrialization, etc. Capture couldn’t catch emission.
Learned much of this in a mid-Atlantic State in the late 50s. Definitely nothing new.