Change is Afoot...

 I am feeling saddened today as this wonderful tree-lined view up our driveway is changing and I will very much miss it looking like this. The trees to our very left belong to our neightbour and they have recently removed them (after this picture was taken) and it has left the driveway bare on this side. It has also left our very tall eucalyptus trees (seen in the middle of the photo in the distance) vulnerable in a strong southerly wind. They are nearly 30 metres tall and if they blew over they could land on our house. We have therefore made the painful (and unfortunately expensive) decision to have them taken down and the man came today with all of his gear ready to start on Monday.

We planted these trees 16 years ago, a year after we bought out land, so we have watched them grow from seedlings to these amazing tall trees with thick trunks. I can remember standing at this gate and looking out over the bare paddocks in front of us and imagining how the driveway might look full of trees and bush so you couldn't see up to the house. These trees feel a bit like our babies and have been part of our landscape for so long I will miss them. They feel like they make up part of something we have created from scratch and I know that once they are gone we won't be able to replace that same look as we can't time back.

I have decided that I am just going to have to brace myself for this decision we have had to make and enjoy having them as much as possible over the weekend. We have taken lots of photos and know that some of our other smaller trees will likely now flourish as their water supply will not be taken by these large thirsty trees. I have to look at this change ahead as being something new in our lives and although definitely not free or economical I need to find the positives in this change - the very least being we can relax a bit when the next strong southerly passes through!