Fallen Tree
There’s no shortage of drama here in Vejbystrand. The day before last, while a powerful summer storm flew through the village, I stepped outside the studio to take a picture of how the gusty winds forcefully bent the bamboo canes and elephant grass.
Just then, at that very moment, the garden’s large Aspen gave in to the strong rush of wind and fell over, nearly landing on top of me. Yeah, it was surreal.
Our local garden and tree expert Östen, believed the thicker of the tree’s sprawling roots had succumbed to some kind of fungus. While the tree itself was fine and looked very healthy, under ground, just below its trunk, there was so much rot that very little was actually holding it upright.
Yesterday, the trunk and branches were cut into manageable pieces and I hauled them off to my compost in the back of the garden and to our firewood shed.
After the initial surprise, a little sadness came over me. I mean, what a shock it must have been for the relatively old Aspen tree. After about 35 years (according to the trunk rings I counted), it just fell over and died. Then again, it might have somehow known it was doomed.
We’ve already started looking at a replacement. Perhaps the next tree to occupy the space will be chestnut or a maple tree.