Save the oak tree!

When we, already 33 years ago (where is the time), bought our current house we were completely delighted with all the details and possibilities. And the nicest thing was of course: there was also a large garden, in which we also found an important detail: an oak. To what the neighbours knew to tell, a tree planted about sixty years before that was part of the inheritance. Later our plot turned out to be a little bigger, and the tree was suddenly completely on its own property. Verily, a rich property.

In summer, the canopy forms a beautiful parasol against the overly intense sunshine. When summer progresses and passes in autumn, you just have to accept the falling acorns. That's not always easy, especially when they're looking for your full coffee cup, but you just don't have to look that closely.

Trees, it will be a well-known wisdom, grow. Every year, the branches grow longer and form new lateral branches. Pleasant in the summer, but the corresponding excess leaf in the autumn that we have to get out of the garden is a bit less.

At some point it became clear to us that the tree should also be cut to curb the overly exuberant growth. It is noted that the previous resident had liked to grow ivy against the trunk, which had grown high in the crown. That resulted in suffocation of branches. And that increases the risk of falling dead branches, which is not exactly safe. Conclusion: Not only pruning, but also “cleaning”. At that time we were more spacious in the young children and therefore less spacious in our pennies. We had also just had a hefty renovation of the house carried out. The rescue idea was born quickly: we apply for a subsidy from the municipality under the motto: 'Save the oak tree from the old orb', with, of course, an indication of the important natural historical value of such a natural monument.

We have already laughed in advance at the face of the official who would get such a letter under his nose.