One-Sided Trees

There you are, walking along, minding your own business and you happen to glance at the pines. Something's not quite right, but it's hard to pinpoint the problem. Then: aha! These trees are one-sided. You can see the trunk all the way from bottom to the top, without being interrupted by pesky branches.

Actually, of course, the trees above aren't completely one-sided. The utility company arborists did leave a little tuft at the top when they were trimming branches that might cause a power problem or outage.

Here's what those trees above would look like viewed from the side. Sorta like a bunch of windblown flags on a pole, all pointing in the same direction. This tree over on Rodeo Drive is visible from Miller Valley Road; the top picture is on Coronado.


It took two pictures to get from the base to the top of this lopsided Ponderosa on Beach Street.

The effect is very different when the tree is a filled-out, mature sycamore. I caught this curious vision approaching the Sharlot Hall grounds from Cortez Street. Again, I became aware that I was seeing a pale trunk and bare branches when I shouldn't be! Circling the tree, one gets the impression that the tree is leaning against the building.

Trees vs. power lines -- it's a catch-22, of course. The lines need to be clear of potentially damaging limbs; the choice is either to cut the trees down or lop them into one-sidedness. Underground lines would solve the problem, of course, but the trees would still have to be chopped in the meantime! You just can't win them all.