When the prevention is worse than the potential injury

We have lovely neighbors. We don't see them that much because the proximity to our houses and driveways doesn't promote that. But they have always been considerate and friendly when we have and have been fine neighbors.

Last month part of one of there trees came down in a major wind storm and nicked our roof. This is part of a row of pines about 30 years old that divide the property and provide some major screening and privacy but they are on their side of the boundary line. The fallen tree certainly wasn't there fault and they were responsive in checking with there insurance and even attempting to clear some of it up by themselves. In the end we contracted with someone to cleanup just what fell and left it up to the neighbor if they wanted to take the rest of the tree down. It didn't matter to us and we had the work done.

We thought it was done until we came home one day to find 2 of the trees gone and the next day all of the 5 trees on a hill next too our house were gone and the bushes and under brush damaged or destroyed in the tree felling process.

While I understand, hearing from the tree guy, that they wanted to make sure it never happened again and it was totally within their right in also making sure they didn't fall on their house, we suddenly have no shade on that part of the house and have totally lost the separation and enormous privacy that the trees provided.

This is before



Below is an "after" picture. The clear area is about 30 feet across and the top of this hill had a row of 5 thick 30 year old pines. Where there was dense shade there is harsh sun. The tree to the right is actually half of a maple tree that was cut off at 15 feet high by the fallen tree and has no branches on one entire side.



Feeling like we have been kicked in the gut by a good deed that also was not cheap. Though the trees are totally lost, I am our there staking up the remnants of bushes to reclaim some amount of what we lost and have a major job cleaning up the cutting debris and we are scrambling to figure out what would grow 15 feet quickly, which is unrealistic stating in mid summer and I have to work to prevent erosion of the hill.

So to me this is an example of the prevention being worse than the potential. The trees were basically healthy with perhaps the need for trimming to prevent them from collecting too much wind in a storm. The roof damage we incurred and taking out the damaged tree will end up costing us (or our insurance) less that a thousand. The work and cost to regain some of what we have lost will probably be well beyond that.