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Jeannine Lawall's avatar

I love these! There are indeed stories hiding in the pictures. I am intrigued by the stump and the bricked up window - I really want to know about the people who live or work there! It looks like the stump is growing back, I think it's cool that someone would be patient enough to tend it to allow the regeneration.

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Mark McGuire's avatar

I must say I am stumped by that stump. I saw several other trees in front of shops in Toronto that had been cut down.

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Jeannine Lawall's avatar

I was about to suggest that maybe the tree was killed by some sort of insect infestation or disease and then cut down (emerald ash borers are causing a lot of damage in NH) , but then I decided to do a bit of investigation before posting possible falsehoods. I discovered that the truth is much more upsetting. I found a blog entry/article that explains how city workers severely pruned a bunch of trees on Queen Street in 2023. According to the article, no more than 20% of a trees canopy can be removed without risking the death of the tree; apparently these guys removed 50 to 70% of the growth from several trees! It may be that this tree stump is all that remains of one of the arboreal victims. At least it looks like it will be back in ten to fifteen years, based on the regeneration from the base of the trunk. You can read all about it here: https://www.blogto.com/city/2023/11/trees-queen-leslie-toronto/

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Jeannine Lawall's avatar

Oops, I'm wrong after all. The Great Tree Butchery happened in November of 2023 and I just realized that you took this photo in JULY, 2023. Do you know anyone in Toronto that you can ask about this? I am really curious, now. Good thing I'm not a cat!

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Mark McGuire's avatar

That's a very worrying blog post. I've tried to find out more. Apparently, Toronto's forestry department has been proactive in removing infected or at-risk trees to prevent the spread of diseases and infestations affecting oak and ash trees in particular.

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Jeannine Lawall's avatar

The utility companies around here tend to be overly zealous when removing trees from under the powerlines. They take away the wood unless asked to leave it behind, so I suspect a lot of the enthusiasm might be explained by a ready supply of fuel for their woodstoves... or maybe I'm just too cynical. 🤔

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Josh Weinberg's avatar

These—especially the last one—have the same spirit as Fred Herzog’s shots of Vancouver.

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Mark McGuire's avatar

Thanks, Josh. I love Fred Herzog’s work. He had an eye for the unusual.

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Juliette's avatar

Cool topic, Mark and great shots! I like the "pause" in your process!

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John E. Canuck's avatar

Enjoyable. Photos truly tell a story.

Inukshuk's ( from what I've been told in northern Ontario ) point in the direction you're intended to safely travel. From destination to destination, in pre GPS days :). Follow the longer arm.

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Mark McGuire's avatar

I didn't know that. I've seen a few of them at Pearson Airport in Toronto. Perhaps they are there to help passengers who might not know where they are going or how to get there.

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