When I bought the house, the yard and the neighborhood had plenty of mature tree cover. One of the first things I did, in one of my first week ends in the house, was get out my tree book and identify everything I had. There was a massive (three foot diameter) pin oak in the back corner yard next to the shed. Along the fence line at the back end was a string of fairly young Norway maples, interspersed with a couple of oaks and a beech, followed by young hemlocks and a young white pine, capped at the street with a magnificent white oak, and a small cluster of its babies. In the front yard, there was a stump of some hardwood tree, about two feet in diameter, and next to the front door a large silver maple. Along the street were ugly tall Norway spruces. On the inside of the yard, they were like cut-away trees, with no branches, probably because whatever tree had left the stump behind had prevented them growing branches on that side. All of this was totally squirrel connected, and the silver maple has hollows that are home to squirrel families.
The corner itself didn't have any trees, so the squirrel track came to an end. The north end along the street had Norway Spruces and a white pine, isolated from the rest of the canopy, (except by a circuitous route involving electrical wires) but nearly three times the height of the house. There was a cedar hedge along the east border along the driveway, and a mock-orange hedge at the east border along the inside corner. Both were too dense to be very useful to squirrel movements, though the fence line and power lines provided some access.
Cutting down trees is a really big deal for me. My dad was firmly of the opinion that only God can make a tree, and even then it takes decades. Fairly early on, I knew I needed the Norway maples had to go, and also the young white oak babies which were clustered around a telephone pole. Luckily I had that work supervised by a landscaper, because they left behind on the fence line a pin oak, a beech, and a black oak, which have continued to thrive.
I went through a couple of years with the ugly spruces. They were probably 50 years old, same as the house, and were Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tall. And they made a hedge totally blocking the view of my neighbors and my street, really creating an isolated feel in this tiny yard that appealed to me. But finally I bit the bullet and down they came.
I knew from the start I would immediately plant new trees, and not "small yard-sized trees" but big tall Eastern Deciduous Forest trees. Of course, I couldn't actually plant tall trees, but I could select the kind that could live and grow for a century or more. Focused on diversity, I selected a white ash, a red oak, and a redbud (which could live under the huge white oak). I dug the holes and my landscaper and I planted them. They were about ten feet tall when they went in, separated by about fifteen feet. The landscaper recommended against planting so densely, "because the crowns will interlock". This was precisely my goal! Now they are tall and I just observed a whole train of squirrels making the trip between them and the remaining Norway spruce. Some of the connecting branches are still quite thin and so two squirrel's worth of weight makes them droop alarmingly, but it works and I'm back into the squirrel highway business!
I've planted a dense set of very small trees along the north street where the spruces used to be, and am encouraging some red oak volunteers. I moved some white oak babies from under their parent to the north end as well and they seem to be thriving. I think I will also do that to the eastern fence line, where a volunteer tulip tree has shot up and taken hold. I'm doing my best to re-create the forest and the highway, and I've actually been here in this spot long enough to have an impact. How about that!
Sherbert update
