It took some persistence and several phone calls. I spoke to our residents’ association, called Toronto 311, the city of Toronto arborists, and the local city councillor’s office. Today it paid off. The arborists from Davey Tree, contracted by the city, arrived and reassessed our tree. A sober second look, this time  by guys really committed to saving trees.  “Looks healthy to us,” they said. Rob went up, Marlon stayed grounded, and they got to work pruning.

A few dead limbs were removed and the stub of the fallen limb was trimmed back. As the stub was sliced they could see the remains of an abandoned carpenter ant nest, which explains why the limb broke. Carpenter ants are apparently a common problem in maples like this one. The ants here did not penetrate the main trunk of the tree, so it is still healthy and growing.

So, one old Norway maple has survived the orange dot “kiss of death” and is still shading the street and our house, still a graceful inhabitant of Glenholme Ave.

And some arborists are our new heroes.

– Schuster Gindin
Photos by Schuster Gindin

Read the original story of the windstorm-damaged tree here.
Read the final instalment of this saga here.

This article can be found in WHAT’S HERE in the section The City.
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