Trees removed at the Tidal Basin

 To the right of the inlet bridge they have cut down all the trees and piled them up.  The Jefferson Memorial is in the background.

he project to rebuild the seawalls at the Tidal Basin in DC has started.  I have been watching this closely all year and went to see the cherry blossoms a couple of times this spring since for the next 3 years there will be fewer trees and fewer walkways while the project progresses.

They started removing the trees on Friday and I went there on Sunday, hoping to pay my last respects to the fallen trees, to walk amongst the stumps and maybe lay my hands on the rough bark.

 It wasn't that easy though.  an eight foot tall fence surrounds the construction area, which runs from the Jefferson Memorial to the FDR memorial.  You can't get anywhere close to the trees. The fence is covered with black fabric so it is hard to see through as well.

I particularly wanted to see "Stumpy" the scraggly tree that was in the news so much this year.  I couldn't get within a hundred feet of it due to the fence. I couldn't even see the stump since a second privacy fence surrounded it.

The small portion of fence in the middle is where Stumpy grew. All you can see of it is fence around it's stump.  The tide was coming in while I was there and you can see part of the walkway has flooded. This is part of the area where the seawalls are being raised.

To the left of the inlet bridge they have also cut down trees.  You can see the white railings of the sidewalk that goes to the walkway around the tidal basin. To the right of them were a couple of beautiful trees that hung low over the walkway and necessitated warning signs about low branches. These trees have been removed.

In addition to the area around the tidal basin, one of the fields to the west of it has been fenced off any there is a giant crane and other construction equipment therer. Also, areas along the Potomac River that are also getting rehabilitated have been closed.