AFTER:
Landscape makeovers can be dramatic. This is the view from my kitchen window before and after last week's big tree culling operation.
When we moved here 11 years ago, the line of too-closely planted spruces trees along the laneway was not as oppressive as it became over a decade. Planted by previous owners, the trees were supposed to function as a windbreak, but they clogged the lane with snow in winter, blocked the view, and cut the property in half visually.
I never liked them at all, and in recent years they began to look more and more like an oppressive black wall. I was resigned to them until they started needing yearly trimming to keep from encroaching the laneway. They were expensive to take down, but we're glad we bit the bullet. They have been chipped into mulch, which we will move to our service area and let compost for a couple of years. After that, we can use the mulch in our gardens.
Do I feel bad about having cut so many trees down? No: over the years, we have planted so many trees that our balance sheet is healthy on that score. I really must count all the trees we planted, but I'll bet the number is well over 100.
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