Sunday, July 25, 2010

Bradford Pear Trees......Not for the Long Haul.......

This past June while we were in Myrtle Beach, we lost one of our Bradford Pear Trees. To quote Grandpa Walton when he showed John-Boy which Christmas tree to cut down, "It's what I've watched grow for all the days of her life." My husband Bill planted all three trees when they weren't much more than sticks with leaves. For 12 years I've watched them grow through all the seasons. Until June, they had all three grown so much they were touching each other. It's so sad to have one gone, with the others to follow, soon, I'm sure. The builder of our neighborhood gave almost everyone at least one Bradford Pear, and out of 39 homes, you could count on one hand how many are now left. Mine didn't even fall during a great storm...it wasn't even raining. Just a freak gust of wind was all it took. I'm glad no one was standing in the yard.

This was the first season the trees were planted in 1998. The little tree to the right of the house is the one that is now gone.



This was taken in 2005. They were putting in a sewer so that is the mess in the yard. The tree is to the right of the truck.



The tree in all it's glory this past Spring.



This is all that is left of the tree. You can see right through it because the center core of the tree is what snapped in a freak gust of wind. We will have to cut down what is left and grind down the stump. I can't bear to do it till the leaves are gone...it's pretty ugly now, but it's still alive, so I will wait till they all lose their leaves. Then it shall be the final goodbye..........

3 comments:

  1. Your trees were beautiful. Bradford Pears have are known for breaking like that. We had two neighbors that lost theirs several years ago. I think they are so pretty from Spring all the way to Winter.
    Love,
    Marie

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  2. Yes, in the Fall they are beautiful too. I sometimes would still have leaves in December when we would have our first snowfall!

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  3. I remember when dad bought the two side tress....They looked like little sticks with leaves...lol...But they grew up very beautiful!

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