when i first moved into the apartment that i now live in, i was impressed with the may trees that surrounded the small block that my space is part of. there were loads, and in the October that i looked at the apartment, to see if it was to my liking, the trees outside the living room window were a gorgeous yellow, and i fell in love with this view. in the year since i moved in, or almost 18 months now, i've seen the seasons change, the trees lose their yellow leaves, be a refuge for the many little birds, looking for food in winter, and a place to rest, and as spring came, the gradual change from only branches to a lush, green, beautiful plant filled me with joy. okay, the endless bird poop on the car was a bit of a nuisance, and the cats lost their rag rather often, staring at the sparrows, and blue tits, and undefined green-ish birds that they couldn't ever reach, but really, small beer compared to the pleasure that we gained from having them outside our window, and outside the building, and in the area - the air that they cleaned, the birds that they harboured, the help to nature, something Breda council appeared to attach so much importance to...
imagine my shock, when i received a letter from this council last Friday, stating that because of the work that will be done in this area on the sewage system, the trees along our building, and a load more in the streets further on, will have to be destroyed... and since it needs to be done before breeding season, it shall be done this week... oh, and can you please move your car for that day too. thanks.
i cried, after i read this... i cried, and i was so f^%$ing angry, and disgusted and upset and dumbstruck... my beautiful tree, the one that gave me so many hours of joy, that fed the birds and gave them shelter and gave us shade and oxygen, was a commodity that stood in the way, and had to be removed... cos it was going to be in the way...
the cutting was done just now, and it felt like i was being punched in the stomach several times over... the guys doing to looked like they didn't give a fig - young chaps mostly, more interested in their phone and another fag - and chainsawed the branches off the trunks, dug the roots out like they were evil that needed destroying, and i cried again... it felt so awful, so pointless.
the work to the sewage will be done in the summer, so - yay - there won't be any new trees for quite some time. thankfully the huge tree in the middle, which i also stare at, is allowed to stay, and some others at the front that are not seen as commodities, so the birds won't be completely bereft of somewhere to hang out in, take shelter, find food, tease the cats. but still... i've ordered the spirits to find me a nice, comfortable, clean, easy to maintain house in the woodlands that i love to wander in. i'm done with urban life...
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