Hello Friends. You know I love spending time in Navasota at the farmhouse right? I don’t think I moan and groan about it all the time. But dealing with an almost 100-year-old home in the country isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ll admit to having been called naïve before but I seriously thought that after turning the house into something cute we’d be able to relax a little. At least somewhat more than we do. But nope, there’s always, always, always something needing to be fixed, maintained or updated. Here’s the not so fun life in the country.
The Not So Fun Life In The Country
It’s a little sad really. Sad enough to bring a tear to a glass eye kinda sad. We had to have both of the 300+ year old Post Oak trees in the front yard removed. The Mister just kept saying it’s an end of an era and I totally agree.
About to remove one of many chandeliers hanging in the trees.
We noticed a couple of years ago the trees were in distress. There are several moss filled Post Oaks around the house but the two right in front of the porch looked sickly and worse than the others so we made an appointment to have an Arborist come out and take a look. He said we needed to treat the soil twice with this super expensive liquid and we did. Since they weren’t looking any better, we decided to get a second opinion.
View of house from front pasture
When Arborist #2 came out we were told that the first process was of no use and what we had was a bug problem. This was very disheartening because by now they looked really really bad. The second guy told us to dig a trench around the base of each tree and mix up this other expensive stuff and pour it in. Again, we did what we were told but as spring rolled around and the leaves had no new growth on them, we realized they were too far gone and there was no saving them. They were dead. We did however use the new treatment on the other sickly looking trees around the property and so far so good. They seem healthier.
With all branches cut, it’s time to cut the hefty trunks.
During this process we learned you can measure the circumference of the tree and estimate 10 years per inch for the age of the tree. We estimated they were about 330 years old so can you understand why we are sad? Not only did this happen on our watch, but now we have to figure out what to do with them. They were so close to the house we felt if a good storm rolled through they could land on top and crush it all. That’s definitely not a conversation I want to have with the family members that spent their growing up years there.
300+ year old tree
We got lots of advice, did some research and found Davis Treescapes, Inc. to remove both trees. When Lee Davis came out to oversee the process, he mentioned the downfall of the trees started back in 2011 when we had a major draught which caused severe trauma to the trees. Then with the extra rain we got a couple of years later they were so compromised the bugs started to invade.
Lee Davis is also an ISA Certified Arborist. He and his crew did an amazing job. They put the limbs into piles so the Mister could spend the rest of the weekend splitting it and stacking the smaller pieces in his IBC Tote idea. He didn’t finish but so far we have enough wood to fill about 4 of these giant totes for future use. The guys even went the extra mile to trim up other trees around the house and kill dozens of wasps that had made quite the nest in one of the dead oaks. Men can run pretty fast when they see 40+ wasps!
View from front door – Before
But I think the coolest thing Lee did was help us keep both of the trunks in large pieces. We’ve decided to have things made from the trees. Some for ourselves and some as gifts to family that grew up with those trees. Maybe a desk and an end table or two then probably charcuterie boards. We are keeping them up out of the sand and we’ve painted the ends to preserve them. Next task is getting a mill to pick them up and begin drying them out and creating something cool.
View from front door – After
I’m staying positive though. We still have several moss covered trees over the drive way and we’ve treated them so I think they’ll be okay. And oh my golly, wait until you see what we created nestled between the trees we have left! You’ll want to come visit and hang out for sure! So I guess the not so fun life in the country turned out to be the not so bad day after all. Well sort of.
Yes sad to see them go but better than them crushing your house! I can just imagine what wonderful pieces will come of those trees to truly live on!
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I’ll make sure and show everyone what is made from the trees. Thanks for the visit Sandi. Hope you have a great week.
I love that your trees will live on with a repurposed life. Like career-change trees.
We made a DIY coffee table from a wood slab. Just add legs and it is the coolest coffee table in the house. Love this story and love the efforts you went to, to save these beautiful trees.
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Thank you Laura. I bet your coffee table is beautiful. Is it on your blog somewhere? I’d like to check it out.
Cindy, so sad about your trees, but now you do have a great view from the porch. Reusing the tree trunks is a smart idea and will keep the memories for your family alive.
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I thought today I can plant things for full sun. I’m excited about that. Just hope the St. Augustine grass holds up. Thanks Carol.
Those trees were gorgeous, but actually, I think now that they are removed, your home shines more. I guess nothing last forever, but it will be so cool for all of the kids to have a unique token from them. That is a great idea. Hang in there, Cindy.
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Thanks Miche. I’m looking forward to having some pieces made and giving the gifts out. We’ll have to have a family reunion. 🙂
Living on a 50+ year homestead in SETX, I totally sympathize with the loss of those magnificent beauties. We also have a large trunk slab painted on the ends and up off the ground awaiting its next adventure. I look forward to seeing what you do to fill in that empty space and what you do with some of those cuttings. Don’t let hubby turn it all into firewood.
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Glad you “get it”! I felt terrible for a while since it happened on our watch but there just wasn’t anything else we could do. Especially since we are only there on occasion. Where do you live in south east Texas? You must have the same issues with weather. Is your home on sand like this one? Thanks for the visit Carlie!
Look how cute your house looks now! And its wonderful that you are repurposing the wood!!
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Awe, thanks Karen. I’m looking forward to planting some new things around the front. This spring and summer will be totally different without all that shade.
Yes there is always something to do when you live on a farm. I love old trees and I’d be sorry to see them go too. The silver lining is it opens up your view from the porch and you don’t have to worry about them falling on your house. It is neat that you can get something made from them – it will make a cool conversation piece for sure!
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True. We hope to have several somethings made. We aren’t planting any more trees there because we have high hopes and future plans for that space. Hope it all works out. 🙂
Can’t wait to see the projects you will make! What an endeavor! Thanks for sharing a piece of your farm life with us!
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Well I figured we should share the good, the bad and the ugly. And right now I feel it’s super duper ugly. We better get on some landscaping. 🙂 Thanks Julie.
I know how much y’all loved those trees and how you love and care for this house. You’re positive outlook in the midst of this disappointment definitely shines. I love your blog….I love you, friend.
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Thank you so much Deborah! You made my week. I’m honored that you even read it! Love you as well. Big hugs.
I love oak trees of all kinds, they live so long and are so beautiful. I think it is wonderful what you are doing with the pieces, so they aren’t really completely gone. It will be rewarding for all your family to have apiece of their history.
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Thank you Marlene. I hope so. They better be grateful! 😉
It’s so sad to lose your beautiful old trees but on a positive note, it really opens up your front yard. I am so happy that you can mill the wood to use for furniture and other things. Living in an old home isn’t for wimps, there is always something that they need!
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Ain’t that the truth?! It’s always something. Not sure in all of the 5 years we’ve EVER gone down there that something didn’t need to be tended too.
Sad to see those trees have gone, but still so glad that ya’ll are the caretakers of that property to document it all. Mom and Dad had a painting made of the house back in the 1980s so those ole post oaks will forever remain part of our memories. I know someone who makes Charcuterie boards out wood with handles from old cabinet pulls – looks relatively easy – maybe an idea. – a cousin
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Oh my goodness Kim! How fantastic to have a painting of the house with the twin trees! That will be a treasure forever. We have already cut several pieces for the purpose of charcuterie boards. I think everyone will appreciate one… Even a cousin. 😉 Thank you so much for the visit today. Hope you have a wonderful week.
Well, Cindy, you know I love those trees. I’m definitely going to miss them. But since I’ve seen a glimpse of that fabulous thing that y’all created between the leftover trees, I’m OK. I admire you and James, and certainly Macy, for keeping up with all the hard work there is to do there. I know when I visit, I think y’all are working from dawn to dusk. I am blessed just to be able to visit and enjoy the fruits of your labor. ❤️
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Thank you. It’s a bunch of work but when we get to sit, sometimes it seems worth it. Sometimes. 😉
I’m so sorry. I know that is terrible. It would have been horrible had they fallen on the house. Watch a Garden Answer episode on YouTube. She’s pretty encouraging about tree removal and the opportunities that follow once the trees are gone.
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Thank you so much Katie for the info. I will definitely check it out.
We have three trees that are having to come down shortly. Way too close to our house with dead areas. We’ve been putting it off, but after a storm our yard is littered with chunks of limbs and debris. I hate to do it, but don’t want a bigger problem down the road. I love the ideas people are coming up with to salvage part of the wood!
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Awe, that will be a sad day Debra. We had large limbs falling off as well anytime we had a strong wind. Better safe than sorry I guess. One of the limbs we are cutting for charcuterie boards looks like an owl. It’s super cool so I’m looking forward to creating a few things. 🙂
I don’t even know what to say about this post, Cindy! On one hand, I’m heartbroken you guys lost those old trees. On the other, I’m excited to see your pretty house better and to know the trees will live on in multiple homes and projects. We have several spots of Spanish Moss at the pecan grove and I’m all kinds of nervous reading this now :/ Sending you hugs sweet friend and hang in there, CoCo
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From what I’ve learned, the Spanish Moss doesn’t kill trees. Ball moss does and it’s super hard to get rid of. Our trees died because of our crazy weather and bad advice. Although it’s hard to tell bad advice when you get it. My advice would be to get help as soon as you see a tree in distress. That way if the first treatment doesn’t work, you can try again.
I was just thinking what beautiful wood that is. So glad you are having special things made from those trees. I hurts to lose all that history. I hate when trees have to come down due to problems. But I see people taking out perfectly good trees & that really hurts too. LOVE trees.
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We are tree lovers too. When James’ mom had the side pasture cleared for cows, I was so sad. I understand why they did it but I think I would have found another way to get an ag benefit. It just doesn’t make sense to me to rid a forest of trees for a bunch of cows. There are lots of little (twig) pine trees sprouting up in places and we are leaving them to grow. Plus, we are planning to plant a few Fir trees so we can have real Christmas trees! Fingers crossed they grow nice and tall.
I’m so glad that your trees will live on in the projects you make from them. In Maine, we had “The Ice Storm of ’98” which damaged the tops of all of our trees. The area looked like the aftermath of nuclear war. All the tops on the trees and a lot of whole trees were down. My maples were hit especially hard. Last year I had to have several of them in front of the house cut down as they finally succumbed to the damage. I asked my odd-job man to cut several into pointed tops as I wanted to make them into fairy houses. He gave me the strangest look as he had never even heard of fairy houses. The rest became firewood for my daughter’s family who heat a lot with wood.
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Awe, that’s sad Kathy. I bet your fairy trees are so cute. Did you start a trend with the other people feeling the aftermath of the ice storm? Sounds like a cute idea to me! And I bet your family were grateful for the extra wood. I’m surprised at how expensive wood is down here. I can’t imagine what it’s like in Maine. Hope you have a great weekend. Stay safe!
I can definitely relate to your love for your trees. I know it was hard to see them go. It’s hard for me to cut down old trees, too…and it’s kind of an ongoing “discussion” between my husband and me. On one hand, I try to be realistic, but on the other…well, our trees are like pieces of my life! Soon after we moved back into my childhood home (such a blessing to us,) it became apparent that we would need to start thinking about taking down the 2 trees in the front yard. They’d had “surgery” many, many times because they were under power lines next to the highway…so many times that they were misshapen and odd-looking. They were almost 40-year-old Bradford Pear trees that had once been beautiful but now had HUGE trunks and crazy branches. A local tree guy gave us a price to take them down, but we just couldn’t afford it at that time. But…he also advised us to think on it because the trees did give us some privacy, shade, and a sound barrier (somewhat) from the busy highway we live on. So…we continued to think about it. Fast forward: one day the tree guys from the power company came through once again to do their “surgery” on trees under the power lines. Guess the trees looked bad to them, too, because they asked if we had ever thought about taking down the trees. When we said yes, they offered to cut them down for us … for free! Of course, I know they were doing it for themselves, too, but we didn’t think we could say no to the offer. As I watched them work, it was personal and sad to me, not going to lie. I remembered when my mother had planted them all those years ago, and how beautiful they always were in the spring and fall. It was like saying good-by to old friends. But it did help a little when one of the men told us that he was surprised they were that old and still standing. According to him, Bradford Pear trees usually only last up to 25 years or so before “splitting” in half. Thankful that never happened, because I would have been even sadder to see the house damaged! Like you, I asked the men to save me a few chunks of the trees to make some side tables and other things. Thanks for sharing your tree story! I enjoy your blog. By the way, once you get used to the new look, it’s not so bad…I actually kind of like the new view now! (And grass-cutting is definitely easier.) 🙂
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Thank you Lynn (that’s my middle name btw). It makes my day hearing you enjoy the blog. And thank you for sharing your story as well. My mom planted a Bradford Pear and I always thought it was the prettiest tree on the block. I love watching the one change across the street. They truly are beautiful. I haven’t been back to the farmhouse since the trees were removed. I’m sure it will be so different driving up the road, but like you, I think I’ll enjoy the new view. Sherlock and Scout are in the pasture directly across from the porch so I know I’ll love being able to watch them more closely. Although, that just means they’ll see Treat Mama too and Scout will forever bray until I bring over the red bucket. They both know exactly what bucket has the treats. 😉 So glad you commented today. Hope to chat again!