We had one of those, too. Tall, beautiful, impressive -- and (apparently) made of paper. Expensive to remove, alas. It required a huge crane to take it down.

Same here. We had an enormous maple tree in front of the house where I grew up, taller than the two-story house itself. At least, we did until our neighbor called the city to cut it down because one of the larger upper branches fell off in a thunderstorm, and he figured the rest of the tree was going to follow. (It wasn't.) Did I mention he did this while my family was out of town on vacation? Without getting in touch with us about it? I didn't know how much blood could get into the human face until I saw my dad's reaction when we pulled in the driveway.

Expensive to remove, alas.

Yeah, we took the cheapest bid, which was still a cool two grand.

while my family was out of town on vacation? Without getting in touch with us about it?

Oooh, that would have made me quite angry as well.

Obviously without knowing the details, and acknowledging the tree-removal professionals' expertise here, I thought in situations like this the base of the trunk could be reinforced (with metal rods, usually, I think). Which is not only a whole hell of a lot cheaper, it also of course preserves the beautiful tree. We did that once with a big tree in similar straits in our yard when I was a kid.

Lucky me. I lost a Black Walnut and got paid $1500 for the wood.

We have a nice pin oak > 1 meter in diameter in our front yard, and it provides ideal shade for 3/4 of the yard during hot summer afternoons. During late autumn, the leaves fall and allow the sunlight to warm the house. This tree provides a good deal of free climate control, etc. The shade also allows for soft fescue grass and partial shade plants to thrive.

I love my oak tree, and if my neighbors try to take it down before it's a true hazard...

3: Yeah. Angrier still when realtor friend estimated its loss probably knocked about $5000 off the property value, which they were four years out from selling.

We have an old, old maple tree in the back yard which is still healthy, knock wood. Some neighbors on our block have had a long-running feud rooted in one of them having the city remove a tree on the other one's property several years back.

"I feel sadder about losing that tree"

Enviro-weenie.

So, what are you planting where it was?

I totally feel your pain. Our neighbors just took down a bunch of large trees, and we're really sad about the empty space.

So, what are you planting where it was?

Cats.

10: Well, the stump is still there, so we'll put some sort of flowering vine to cover it. Clematis or trumpet creeper or some such.

13: Clematis or trumpet creeper aren't going to grow nearly as tall as a tulip poplar, apo.

Dude, you need to replace it with another shade tree. Plus, removing the stump is a valid reason to get guys with dynamite blowing stuff up in your yard.

Dude, you need to replace it with another shade tree.

Oh, there are several other trees that have languished under its canopy that will now shoot up and spread out, including two scraggly tulip poplars. We aren't hurting for trees; I just hated to lose the granddaddy of them.

16: Well, at least that old tulip poplar won't be yelling at those young trees to get off his lawn anymore.

Now it's like the Giving Tree. I'm going to go home tonight and sit on the stump.

In the story, once the Giving Tree is just a stump to sit on, the kid is a feeble old man. Unless you've taken a big downturn since UnfoggeDCon, I'd say you're in much better shape.

Clearly then, you need to find ways to keep sucking life out of the Giving Tree while completely neglecting it until you're too old to do anything but sit on a stump.

Can you buy a big-ass replacement tree?

If a tree is on your property and your neighbor cuts it down, I think you would have grounds for several legal claims against him. Trespass and destruction of property, at least.

The neighbor doesn't do the cutting.

Also doesn't help when the city agrees that it might just possibly could perhaps be a potential threat if, say, a tornado hit it. (Overlooking the fact that this would be the least of our problems if an F5 came whipping through.)

I love all of the nature-affirming tree-grieving.

Here in Bonsai Land, we're lucky to have a few house plants and maybe something small outside. This might be what fuels love of the cherry blossoms and the high appreciation (and prices) on bonsai trees and other miniature house plants.