When our house was built fifty-eight years ago we planted two Red Maple trees in the front yard, one on each side of the driveway. They were just thin whips but they grew into nice-sized trees. The one in front of our bedroom shaded the house. Gene liked to climb up about fifteen feet and sit there reading a book. A few years ago, the top of that one broke off in a storm. We passed it off as storm damage.
Time marched on and several years ago I noticed the leaves falling from the tree in the summer were merely webs without any red leaf material. We didn't know what was causing it. Then two years ago I noticed the top of the second tree was dead. Just like the first one, it started at the top. One clear day, the top of that tree broke off and fell onto the road. Now we had two disfigured dying trees. We decided it is time to take them down.
Dale came in December of 2025 and took down the one between the two garages. He took two heaping pickup loads of wood home to heat his house.
In March 2026, three of our sons and two grandsons came and took down the tree in front of the house. The grandsons had a great time burning the brush.
Life got busy and the stumps sat in the yard all summer. On September 1, Gerald rented a stump grinder and the stumps bit the dust.
Three days later Gene leveled the holes and seeded grass in both spots. The yellow spot across the driveway is where the second tree stood. And that is the bitter end of our Red Maples.
Red Maples are supposed to last 100-150 years. Perhaps ours could have been saved if we had realized sooner something was wrong with them and done something about it. I missed their shade this summer. It is kind of sad to have outlived trees that should have lived another fifty years.
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