Tree trouble: 39th/Fauntleroy, and a backyard alert

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(photo added 11:36 am – the car in the background is traveling NB on Fauntleroy)
ORIGINAL 11:24 AM POST: If you’ve heard this one somewhere else: A tree fell on 39th at Fauntleroy in the Fairmount Springs area. IT IS NOT BLOCKING FAUNTLEROY. It is briefly blocking the triangle area on the side where drivers get to Fauntleroy, northbound, from 39th, and it’s being cut up as we speak.

ADDED 11:43 AM: A reason to keep close watch on the trees around your home/apartment:

Hutch sent photos of the lilac that “decided to give it up” after Sunday’s heavy, wet snow, plus the past few days’ rain (and maybe the wind, too) … good reminder that there may be more than a few trees/large shrubs in weakened condition around the area.

Funny guy January 8, 2009 (11:45 am)

It looks like that car is driving over the speed limit, I’m guessing 45 mph.
It also looks like Fauntleroy traffic is backed up to the ferry dock…. :-)

Kathleen January 8, 2009 (2:43 pm)

I’m sorry to see the lilac broke. My husband and I are the previous owners of that house and one of my favorite spring memories is the smell of that lilac outside our bedroom window.

Hey Hutch! Years ago, thinking he had permission, Eleanor’s husband cut the white lilac next to the fence in the backyard to the ground. And it came back with a vengeance! Do you think there’s a chance some of it could be saved?

add January 8, 2009 (4:58 pm)

Oh, that is sad about the lilac! We lost one of our two in the last big windstorm, along with our back fence. The only good thing is that it spurred on a much needed fence/deck remodel.

Stephen January 8, 2009 (6:00 pm)

I also lost a lilac on Sunday night. Was heading to bed and looked out the window to see it leaning over the path to the back yard. Then two minutes later the power went out. JOY! The main trunk with many many limbs/branches is what broke. There is a smaller growth which is still intact…sadly it’s not as pretty as the other was.

Scott B. January 8, 2009 (10:39 pm)

There was a lilac tree in my yard. Over the years, it slowly toppled over similar to the picture that Hutch sent. New shoots shot up, and now it looks like a lilac bush.

If you like lilacs, folks, don’t give up. Watch what happens for a couple springs. You might like the resulting appearance of the plant more than its previous appearance. My lilac produces at least four times as many flowers as it did when it was a tree.

Hutch January 9, 2009 (9:06 am)

Hi Kathleen,

Yeah, it’s definitely a bummer! This tree has the most gorgeous purple blooms in the spring…it’s a favorite of the neighborhood. We’ll see what happens…it split in the middle of the trunk (there are 2 main branches on this one) and one “half” is still okay…but the core of the trunk is pretty rotten, or so it appears. I think we’ll leave it to see if it blooms again before taking any further action.

I had to knock snow off all the other trees as they were almost bent over (the birches) in the back…they would have snapped had I not done this. Also the magnolia in the front probably would have had a branch go if we hadn’t cleared it…nothing like snow down your back and on your head at 10:00 at night! Say hi to James and kiddos!

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