Take Advantage of Winter
You may have noticed that trees around the edge of your yard often grow inwards, towards the light and open space. Trees along the roadways also tend to grow inward, toward the street, causing poor visibility and safety hazards. Often, they also take on a natural lean, which is never ideal for any tree. Later, when the tree dies, it naturally falls toward the street. We’ve all pulled up to an intersection at some point, only to find that you can’t clearly see oncoming traffic due to trees and brush. In the summer, deciduous tree limbs, weighted down with heavy leaves, can hide street signs and block visibility. In winter, trees and limbs, weighted down with heavy ice & snow can hang down into the travel lane, slapping school busses and plow trucks as they pass by. Even your driveway or camp road is vulnerable to limbs and brush, growing inward, threatening to damage your car or block you in. Winter is a great time to do roadside tree maintenance. During summer months, most tree companies are “right out straight” tending to seasonal camp owners and locals alike, but winter poses many obstacles to doing residential tree services. Roadside trees are easily accessible in winter and local tree companies are usually more apt to “work a deal” at that time of year to keep their crews working. So, this might be a good time to take a closer look at the trees along your driveway, your camp road or your town road to see if they need any work. Pass the word along, to the person/people in charge, that this might be a good time to plan for some wintertime roadside tree maintenance.