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| 9/21/26 European chestnut tree, Fremont neighborhood |
A ginormous European chestnut tree grows in Fremont that is
a marvel of nature. Decades ago, a fire hydrant was installed in the sidewalk
with presumably plenty of space between it and the tree. Now the roots are
growing around the hydrant like it’s just a minor inconvenience! Right now the
leaves are still green, and it’s full of fuzzy, green chestnuts that I
understand will eventually be the kind that are tasty to roast and eat.
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| The man who lives in the house behind the chestnut came out to rake. Although the tree still has most of its leaves, I can imagine what a huge job it would be to keep up with them once they start falling. |
I first learned about this street tree, the widest-diameter
chestnut in Seattle, from Taha Ebrahimi’s book, Street Trees of Seattle,
which I used as a guide for sketching many street trees a couple of years ago. A recent Instagram post from Taha reminded me of it, and when she
showed photos of the roots wrapped around the hydrant, I knew I had to sketch
it. My sketches feel puny, though; I’d need paper four times as large to
capture even a part of its crown. |
| How big would my paper have to be to capture this whole tree! |
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| How annoying. . . like a seed stuck between teeth! |
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