The Oval at Colorado State University is one of my favorite places in Fort Collins. It's just what its name says, a large oval drive, with academic and administrative buildings around it, bisected by a lovely walkway lined with 65 mature old elm trees. The math department is located in the Weber building, so Ryan is lucky enough to spend most of his time right on The Oval.
The Oval is lovely in all seasons and for many reasons.
But some of those seasons can cause problems. On May 18th of this year, Fort Collins had eight inches of heavy, wet snow. Classes were cancelled (the first time CSU ever had a snow day during the summer session!) and The Oval was closed for almost a week because the snow caused many tree branches in full spring leaf to fall.
Eight hundred of CSU's 6,000 trees were damaged enough that they will have to be removed, and there are still hundreds of branches dangling precariously all over Fort Collins.
Like this one hanging on Ryan's roof. Many calls have been made so we're keeping our fingers crossed that he can get it removed before it splits completely. Colorado really is wonderful, except for the damage from hail and spring snows!
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| I didn't label this photo, so am not responsible for the misspelling of Isotope Drive. :-) |
The Oval is lovely in all seasons and for many reasons.
But some of those seasons can cause problems. On May 18th of this year, Fort Collins had eight inches of heavy, wet snow. Classes were cancelled (the first time CSU ever had a snow day during the summer session!) and The Oval was closed for almost a week because the snow caused many tree branches in full spring leaf to fall.
Eight hundred of CSU's 6,000 trees were damaged enough that they will have to be removed, and there are still hundreds of branches dangling precariously all over Fort Collins.
Like this one hanging on Ryan's roof. Many calls have been made so we're keeping our fingers crossed that he can get it removed before it splits completely. Colorado really is wonderful, except for the damage from hail and spring snows!
Wow! And how devastating for those poor trees. The hail out there is legendary!
ReplyDeleteOh my! Those first pictures are so beautiful...and then the damage. My brother in Boulder lost all his peaches (again) due to that late snow.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see trees that old and majestic fall victim to a spring storm. The Oval is gorgeous, though, thanks for sharing those photos of it!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE The Oval! It hasn't actually changed much since Tom was a student at CSU -- so I did recognize your tease-photo last week. :-) So sad to lose so many of those gorgeous trees. (I hope Ryan's tree is taken care of soon. Yikes!) XO
ReplyDeleteSo sad, the trees in Colorado are beautiful though. They look so nicely old.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back.
Thank you, Annette. It was a sad sight to see so many damaged trees, but I guess that's one of the things Coloradoans have to live with, along with "Hail Sales" at car dealers.
DeleteBeautiful photos... but how sad those spring snows did so much damage! I hope they are quick on the removal of Ryan's tree!
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad when big trees come down or are damaged... and even worse when they aren't replanted for our children's children.
ReplyDeleteOh this is sad! a completely unexpected ending after those first few beautiful photos. Boy I hope that tree on Ryan's roof gets addressed soon. We worry about pine trees around here (and thank goodness it's just ice, not heavy snow ... in MAY!)
ReplyDeleteWe just had a bad wind storm here a couple of weeks ago. It was the third worst power outage in the city's history, so I understand the sorrow of losing beautiful and mature trees. This time we did not lose any. We were really lucky! I empathize with Ryan; I am waiting for one of our big oaks to fall on the roof someday. I hope they get to him soon! The oval is gorgeous and those elms are breath-taking in fall! By the way, I think it is funny that you notice Isotope Drive was misspelled, but not visitor. :)
ReplyDeleteGood eyes; I was so focused on "Isotrope" that I completely missed "Vistor"! Hopefully neither you (nor Ryan) will end up with trees through your roofs!
DeleteWe had the same storm, but not as much snow. I'm so sad for Ft. Collins! SLC has had record breaking (and tree breaking) storms and it's heartbreaking! May Ryan's home stay safe until you can get someone to take down the branch.
ReplyDeletePS. I'm very envious of that oval and wish we had something similar to walk around and enjoy!
ReplyDelete