Buh-bye Trees

In a way, I'm a bit of tree hugger. I love to see nature preserved and much prefer the great outdoors to the hustle and bustle of city life. I yearn to live in the great wide plains surrounded by wildflowers and a veggie garden tended by my own hands. A place where my kids could be as free range as the chickens and commitments to the outside world are a rarity. But alas, I live in a subdivision smackdab in the middle of a suburb of a medium size city. I still try to maintain as much natural living as possible in the current culture we live in but even a nature lover like me has a breaking point.

Trees. Specifically the five giant Sweetgums towering over my house.

I have no idea how many stories tall these things are, maybe 5 or more. Not knowing or caring about how quick a Sweetgum grows, I have no idea which came first; the tree or the house. The trees border our patio and create the most beautiful shady spot during the summer so I can somewhat understand the idea of planting them close to the house. But why this specific type of tree? The wood is hard as a rock and I live in fear of them cutting through my house like a knife through butter. As if the size wasn't enough to worry with, I have plenty of worries about the weapons this tree showers down on our yard (and the neighbor's yard...bless them!) throughout the year. Sweetgums drop spiky balls that lay in the grass like little landmines ready to shred the soles of feet of anyone who happens to stumble upon them barefoot. I like being barefoot in the grass...except in my own back yard.

As we prepare our home in an effort to love it more, we've decided it's time that these trees meet their demise so we can reclaim our backyard. It's not a cheap procedure and I'm racking my brain of things I can sell in an effort to help offset some of the cost, but in the end it will be worth it to be able to spend our days in the back yard again and no longer be that family with the inflatable pool and slip and slide in the front yard.