The Tree Fell

We returned to Illinois on Tuesday. We're selling our house to our daughter, her husband and granddaughter tomorrow. Today, the tree fell.

We've had this horse chestnut tree for the past 35 years. It was several decades old when we bought our home in 1976. It has been a squirrel haven all this time. We knew the tree had been impacted several years ago and it was a matter of time. The tree people said there was no problem with it falling down even if it completely died. Art had been calling the landscapers all day today to get some estimates on taking it down.


There was a stiff wind today but nothing we were concerned about. We were in the house when we thought we heard "something." We thought it might be KC waking from her nap and jumping down from her bed.

Nope. It wasn't her. Our neighbor across the street came over to tell us. We could not believe our eyes!

We called the city, but they were closed since it was 5:00. We called the emergency number and they asked us if emergency vehicles could pass through. We thought they could but they wouldn't be able to reach the fire hydrant that had been placed there last year.

The fire fighters came over with their chain saws and started sawing the tree limbs right away.

They cleared the hydrant and then cleared the street in case a fire truck needed to park there.

As shocking as this all was, the tree fell away from both houses. It did not hit any cars. It did not hit any people. It did not hit the fire hydrant. It even missed KC's pinwheel.

KC thought she should help.

One of our neighbors stopped by to help us and then gave us the name of some workers who will come to take the tree away tomorrow morning. It's rather an expense but it would have been even more expensive if it was still standing.

In fact, we got to see a lot of our old neighbors today. It was a shock to see the tree fall, but you know... it could have been a lot worse.

Actually, we were very lucky!