We can see the forest, all right. It’s right on top of us.
Below is our neighborhood, as seen from above. See the houses and driveways? Those are our neighbors. See the dark blotch right in the middle of the picture? That’s where our house is. Honestly, there’s a house in there.
Image from Google Maps.
When we bought our house, over 11 years ago, one of the selling points for me was the heavily wooded neighborhood, and the heavily wooded lot. I like trees. I wanted to live with trees. And the trees around our house are beautiful. We have towering oaks and maples, with a few other types that I could probably identify if I bothered to look them up in the tree field guide I bought so many years ago. (Or maybe I did look them up, and have now forgotten.) Our house is on a bit of an incline, and the trees continue down the hill behind the house. The result is that our upstairs windows look right out into the treetops. It’s a bit like living in a treehouse.
The trouble is, the trees keep growing. And some of them are really close to the house. This has become an issue over the last 3 or 4 years. The house just isn’t getting enough sun for things to dry out regularly. And when you live in a wooden house, this is a problem. We’ve had issues with rot and mold, and have had to replace doors and soffits. Our gutter fell off rather dramatically a couple of years ago. We’ve had to be vigilant treating our house for carpenter ants.
Tomorrow, someone is coming to take down some of the trees. I’m glad that we’ll finally be dealing with the issue, but I’ll be sad to see some of them go. (Actually, I’m not planning on watching–or hearing–them go. We’ll be getting out to avoid the noise and the stress.)
This oak tree is probably just over 4 feet away from our deck. It’s probably a good 50 feet tall now. (Yikes!)
Looking up at the oak tree from our deck (which is one floor above the ground).
The back of our house, again from the deck. I think that gutter is a good 25 feet above ground level. As you can see, the trees are taller than that.
collecting tokens 
It’s always sad to have trees cut down, but it sounds like a necessary thing. I guess you don’t live in an area prone to wildfires, or with roof rats, both of which would probably have convinced you to cut down the trees closest to the house a lot sooner. I hope you’ll get more sunlight in the house and that it helps resolve some of those other issues! Good luck!
Hi Alejna…
So… are there Totoros in the forest around your house? ;b
We’ve always lived on a wooded lot, so I relate to the pleasures and problems of trees. Enjoy the sunlight!
It is sad, isnt it? The trees that remain may be happier, though — we have to thin forests around here to keep the forest healthy.