My Favorite Tree in my Backyard for Tree Tuesday

Tree Tuesday

Tree Tuesday is an initiative started by @old-guy-photos.

Trees are some of my favorite things around. They are so good for us in so many ways.

Trees clean the air - yes, do plant a few - or a lot of them.
They give us shade.
They produce rain. (Something I need to write a post about)
they provide food.
They provide lots of mulch.
They provide habitat for all kinds of wildlife.
They reduce crime. (Another topic for a post)
They reduce anxiety.

And so much more.

Do you have any idea how many critters make this tree their home?

I haven't counted, but a lot of them. All kinds of birds have made their nest in this tree and others stop by for a rest or a conversation. Then, there are the pinecones with all their yummy pine nuts.

Boya, my dog, likes to eat those too.

And they make a loud noise when they fall on our veranda roof!

Take a look from straight under one of the main trunks. Those cones fall from pretty far up.

It is sad that the tree at one point - or at several times - was subjected to unhealthy pruning. Sadly, many tree trimmers do not know about proper pruning techniques and butcher the poor trees they are supposed to trim.

Here you can see that the branches are not well balanced and worse, there are stubs left where a branch was cut. That invites rot to set in. I have hired a climbing tree trimmer before - going up with a rope and a chainsaw and he fixed it a bit. But it became apparent that he didn't really know the proper technique either.

A couple more shots from under the tree. It is loaded with pinecones and sadly, some areas aren't looking too good.

I am rooting for the tree to stay strong and keep growing. It probably was planted when the house was built - or maybe it was already there.
The tree has survived a lot and I am hoping that it will stay happy for many years to come.

Do you have trees in your yard? What kind? Which one is your favorite?