More Friends Fall to the Chainsaw.

There's been a lot of activity on our street today.  First of all I was out there early to beat the record high temps and humidity Orlando has been experiencing this week. Got my lawn cut and hacked away at some of the jungle in the back.

Panda, of course supervised, she is one bossy Boston.

And some good news, our banana trees are making a comeback.  I thought they were done for after our

"harsh" winter.

After I shut the mower off, I heard lots of machinery and chains saws. That ususally means a downed limb or tree and we had a heck of a storm yesterday.  I went around front and saw this:

This was obviously more than a downed limb. At the risk of being labeled the street busybody I took some more pictures. Because two huge Live Oaks were being taken down by one of my neighbors. 

This is the time of year we Floridians begin to get nervous about hurricanes and people on our street have been nervous since we got whacked by three hurricans in a row in 2003. 

I just hate to see them go, especially if they are healthy.  I worry about the ones over our house whenever it gets windy and I guess I will feel differently about them if one ever comes down. Live Oaks are known for their strength and longevity, but a lot of people confuse them with Water Oak or Laurel Oak which are notorious for fast growth, shallow root systems and toppling in storms or high wind. 

I've complained on here about raking leaves and picking up acorns, but I also realize the tremendous payoff in the warm months with the shade they provide.  About 15 years ago my across the street neighbor had one of these beauties taken down because she was tired of raking the leaves and picking up debris. It was a healthy Live Oak that was over 50 years old.

Our street used to be full of trees like these that are over our house, but they seem to be disappearing each year.  I understand the fear of a limb or tree falling on a house and I hope the trees taken out today were taken down for good reasons, not for convenience.

On a more positive note, I'm loving my Crepe Myrtle trees.  You can see the pink one to the left in the above picture, but here's a closer look at the blossoms.  They were hanging heavy today because of the rain we had last night.

And I don't feel like putting out the welcome mat for our latest nest builder that I discovered as I was walking into the house after taking these pictures: