it's cooler today, thank goodness! no roasting.
but there was another commotion today. an enormous limb fell off one of the chinese pistache trees in the side yard (we live on a corner). i got awakened around 7 by crews from the city outside my window getting ready to deal with it.
about 8 months ago a limb had fallen off that same tree, due to a canker inside, which kept on growing. no one from the city inspected the tree at that time. shortly after sunrise this morning, about half of what remained of that tree gave way and fell onto the street because the tree had become so weak.
no one was injured, and while some of the branches landed on a pickup truck parked at the curb i don't think there was any serious damage.
it took the crews about an hour to cut down the whole tree (it was taller than the house) and saw it up and feed it bit by bit into the wood chipper. the city arborist said he was going to inspect the nearby trees to make sure they aren't on the verge of collapse as well.
in previous years the pistache in the front yard has lost 2 limbs due to a canker, so maybe that one won't pass inspection. we won't be here anymore by then anyway, because our new apartment is almost ready to open up to tenants, so it'll be the landlord's problem and not ours.
i will miss that tree, though. it turned such pretty colors in the fall, and i had fun watching the squirrels that had a nest in its top branches, and it provided shade on the southwest corner of the house to keep it cooler in the summer.
