It was an ordinary day. Reading about the iconic cherry tree "Stumpy" that sits along the Tidal Basin in Wanshinton, D.C. The weakened tree is experiencing its last peak bloom before being removed for a renovation project that will rebuild seawalls around the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park. The sun is setting on Stumpy, the gnarled old cherry tree that has become a social media phenom. The cherry blossoms will be gone soon and will be the last for Stumpy and more than 1000 other cherry trees that will be cut down as part of a multiyear restoration of their Tidal Basin home. In early summer crews will begin replacing crumbling seawalls around the Tidal Basin which is the area around the Jefferson Memorial with the highest concentration of cherry trees.
 |
| Stumpy the mascot dances around the cherry tree at Tidal Basin |
If you have been to the area in recent years, you more than likely have noticed that the rising Potomac waters have regularly surged over the barriers. The twice-daily floods at high tide not only cover some of the pedestrian paths, they also soak some of the cherry trees' roots. The $133 million project to rebuild and reinforce the sea wall will take about three years. It is said that it will benefit the visitor's experience when completed, but most of all, it's going to benefit the cherry trees who right now are every day, twice a day, seeing their roots inundated with the brackish water of the Tidal Basin. Entire stretches of trees, as wide as 100 yards, have been lost and can't be replaced "until we fix the underlying cause of what killed them in the first place." At least "Stumpy" remains alive, but in rough shape. Plans call for 140 cherry trees...and 300 trees total...to be removed and turned into mulch. When the project is completed, 277 cherry trees will be planted as replacements. The mulch will protect the roots of surviving trees from foot traffic and break down over time into nutrient-rich soil, "so it's a good second life" for the trees that are being cut down. If you have every been to the National Cherry Blossom Festival, it is widely considered to be the start of the tourist season in the nation's capitol. Organizers expect 1.5 million people to view the pink and white blossoms this year, the most since the coronavirus pandemic. Large numbers of cherry blossom fans have already been drawn to the area as the trees entered peak bloom on March 17, several days earlier than expected. "Stumpy" became a social media star during the pandemic fever dream of 2020. Its legacy has spawned T-shirt, a calendar and a fanbase. News of Stumpy's final spring has prompted people to leave flowers and bourbon and had one viewer threaten to chain themself to the trunk to save the tree. But, the good news on Stumpy is that the national Arboretum plans to take parts of the tree's genetic material and crate clones, some of which will eventually be replanted at the Tidal Basin. Perhaps signs may stand next to those special trees! Seems that the regular flooding at the Tidal Basin has risen about a foot since the seawall was built in the early 1990s. Warmer winters have caused peak bloom to creep earlier on the calendar. This year's peak bloom was predicted to start around this coming Saturday, but it ended up being declared on March 17. Another weather side effect: A mid-march cold snap in the D.C. area should actually extend this year's bloom past the predicted April 9 ending. If you have never seen the trees blooming, you better get here soon, for they may never be the same again in our lifetime....at least for a long while. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment