This is not what you want to see on the ground at the beginning of September.
The neighbor’s Burr Oak that sits near the property line between us is showing signs of severe stress. It’s been dropping leaves since July, and now it’s three-quarters bare:
Last week when I was puttering in my front yard a different neighbor called out to me and expressed her concern. She said Burr Oaks all over the neighborhood are looking sickly. I guess I don’t pay attention to trees as much as I should.
A few hours later my husband and I were eating dinner when someone rang the doorbell. Yet another neighbor wanted us to know that oak tree is looking severely stressed. She told us that has one too that’s also losing all its leaves prematurely.
We don’t suspect it’s oak wilt because that disease progresses much more quickly—it can kill a tree in a matter of weeks and our trees have been battling their sickness for several months now.
Whatever it is, I hope we don’t lose any more trees. Our neighborhood used to have a wonderful old oak and hickory canopy that attracted many migrating birds in the spring and fall. But one by one those old trees are succumbing to high winds and diseases and taking some of the character of the neighborhood along with them.