This was the damage done to the Branford Pear Tree in my backyard, within five feet of my south bedroom window, recently. No wind, no downpour, no tornado... we just had a light mist falling all night. I heard a whoosh about 2 AM and figured it might have been paper falling off the cabinet in my room. Steve came out that morning and said "how did the weed (growing alongside the deck at that time) grow half-way across the yard?" Simply put, I was amazed that this branch, 5" in diameter and nearly 20 foot tall when stood up, only grazed the house. It didn't damage the window or the siding, and didn't even affect the window air unit in my window at the time. This branch was the main offshoot from the trunk and comprised 30% of the tree foilage.
Countless times, I remember smacking my head on it when trying to mow the lawn, while saying "that branch needs to be sheared off." If that's exactly the words I used, there really is such a thing as a genie, because it did shear off... allbeit roughly.
It took nearly two weeks to find the utensils needed to clean up from this spot (amazingly, no grass died). It is still in holding on the side of the house, waiting for the landlord to dispose of it.
I had an estimate for a clearing of the branches earlier, and I was amazed at the guy's attitude. He looked at me like I was the last on Earth to know that Branford Pears had a rough time this year with splitting at the trunk. This was not news to him, but hello -- this tree has not plastered the cover of Home & Garden magazine, has it?
In spite of its low clearance, it has been a good shade tree. I only hope that it doesn't go through shock between now and next spring - there is a pretty nice gash in the trunk - to where it will need to be replaced next season.
