That picture is hard to size in reality, but that tree is easily 80 feet tall. The break is around 40 feet up. While my family was blessed to not have any damage to the house, cars, or the new shed, some of my 80 to 100 year old trees didn’t fair so well.

So far, I’ve gotten two opinions from tree services. The first said the tree in the picture would have to be completely removed and is a lost cause, and the tree next to it, which lost its top has a 50/50 chance of survival. Furthermore, it would be around $4,000 to drop that tree.

The second tree service said they could both live and that only time will tell; however, some mitigations can be done to protect the exposed areas from bugs that can kill the trees. Asphalt or paint sealants are apparently popular. They charge $350 per hour with a two-hour minimum. This service also dropped five blight-ridden pine trees for us at this same house around four years ago.

I’m still going to try to reach out to another arborist for a third opinion as I really don’t want these beautiful trees to die.

Either way, I don’t expect to get to a financial education article this week. I am, however, hoping to work on some six-month updates.

~~Miniwing~~
I swear, if I don’t stop getting emergencies that eat all my money…