Mill Hill

Mill Hill Lane was hit pretty hard by the hurricane and I've driven up and down the street a number of times since then to check on things. There were some nice big trees that came down and the whole street was without power for awhile.

It's funny how we can pass things over and over, sometimes daily, and not really notice them. Or at least not notice the fine detail along the way. I've always loved Mill Hill and would be happy to live there because it feels more intimate and less grand than the lanes between Main and Egypt, but lately the scale has been changing, with modest middle class houses being transformed into big rambling homes that take up too much of the property. But what I noticed recently, because I was really looking at them, were the trees. It appears that all the trees on the upper half of Mill Hill were all planted at the same time. They're all the same type and all the exact same size. It would seem as though the lower half of the road was established for a long time before the upper half was, and once building began towards the back lots the village, or town, came in and planted rows of the same trees on either side if the road. They're beautiful trees now, but almost every one of them has a divided trunk, which of course is not a good thing when the high winds come. Those deep crotches in trees make them weaker, not to mention providing a place for moisture to collect and fungus and disease to work its way in. I'm afraid when they're much older we're going to lose more of them.

Of course I'm no arborist and I don't know the history of the street, but my slow passes up and down this week have peaked my interest and I'm going to find out more about the history of it as soon as I can. I want to know when and why those trees were planted. And I want to know why Mill Hill is so narrow. I want to know everything I can about the street because I love delving in to the history of the local area. Especially places I know nothing about. I'll keep you posted!