Hey Folks,

One of the advantages of living/working in an older, established neighborhood, is the mature street trees that provide shade and comfort in an otherwise harsh urban environment.  Unfortunately, these same trees can disrupt sidewalks and cause problems with sewers and storm drains as they get older.  Such was the determination of the City of Seattle when they decided to remove the two trees from the front of my shop (they did repair the sidewalk).  So now instead of the dappled shade of a tree lined lane, my little building stands alone and exposed on the busy street.

Fortunately, the City’s Urban Forestry Division is sympathetic to the problem.  So after a valiant but failed attempt to save our trees, they have selected replacement trees that hopefully will be planted at the end of this week.  Our new trees will be Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica vanessa).  Although they won’t grow as tall, or as broad as the Red Maples that we once had, we’re looking forward to watching them grow.

Cheers,
Tom