Sometimes new developments aren't so pretty when the developers "leave" the trees. Yes, everything is beautiful when people buy the homes, then in about 4 years or so (sooner if there are drought conditions), the trees start to die. Why? Because developers don't want to go to the extra expense of protecting the trees from damage during the building process. They take away topsoil, drive equipment over root systems, which compacts the soil and damages the root system, and sometimes just repeatedly run into the trees with their heavy equipment, leaving big gauges in the trunks. What a surprise when the trees die!
That happened where we live now and there are very few big old trees left around the houses. We have no topsoil- it all has to be brought in, so rain runs right off the clay before it can really soak in. It is criminal. I wish they had just cut the trees all at their expense instead of us having to watch them die a slow death AND pay for their removal. Last fall, a huge dead limb fell from my neighbor's dead tree into our yard, and when it hit the ground, a big chunk broke off and crashed through my son's window - he was standing right inside this window at the time and the blinds kept the flying glass from slicng up his right-out-of-the-shower nakey body. Funny story now, and I'll save the rest of the story of his world record "streak" for another day. A month before this incident, an entire tree from the same neighbor's yard fell into our yard on a sunny windless day. Dead as a doornail. New neighbors have cut down all the remaining dead trees thank God.
I know now there are developments that are requiring the builders to restrict heavy equipment access around the trees and some other measures that I can't recall - but all designed to save the trees from the scenario described above. Cheap developers will just clear cut instead of go to the trouble (and it is trouble) to preserve vegetation in a way that allows it to live beyond the clsoing date on the property. Maybe some of y'all have more info on this- would like to hear it!
That happened where we live now and there are very few big old trees left around the houses. We have no topsoil- it all has to be brought in, so rain runs right off the clay before it can really soak in. It is criminal. I wish they had just cut the trees all at their expense instead of us having to watch them die a slow death AND pay for their removal. Last fall, a huge dead limb fell from my neighbor's dead tree into our yard, and when it hit the ground, a big chunk broke off and crashed through my son's window - he was standing right inside this window at the time and the blinds kept the flying glass from slicng up his right-out-of-the-shower nakey body. Funny story now, and I'll save the rest of the story of his world record "streak" for another day. A month before this incident, an entire tree from the same neighbor's yard fell into our yard on a sunny windless day. Dead as a doornail. New neighbors have cut down all the remaining dead trees thank God.
I know now there are developments that are requiring the builders to restrict heavy equipment access around the trees and some other measures that I can't recall - but all designed to save the trees from the scenario described above. Cheap developers will just clear cut instead of go to the trouble (and it is trouble) to preserve vegetation in a way that allows it to live beyond the clsoing date on the property. Maybe some of y'all have more info on this- would like to hear it!
The only issue was no one in my group would go canoeing...too afraid of being in chilly water.