So this is what I saw from the car, and went back to photograph yesterday. Then I saw the long view along the line of trees, and forgot about this for the moment. These are "Buttonball trees" which are really American sycamore trees. I usually photograph them in a long line, but the strange convoluted branches against the sky are what caught my attention. The "lumps" on the end of each branch are not normal for Sycamores - they have been pruned like this for the 45 years I have lived here. That's because they are planted very close together and need to be pruned like this to prevent them from getting their branches entangled together. Please click on the photo to see it in more detail.
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The pruning technique illustrated in this photo is called "pollarding" and is used to control the size and shape of trees. It is a common practice to pollard certain fruit trees. By coincidence, this past weekend I "butchered" my three Natchez Crepe Myrtles because they were planted too close to my house and have become a nuisance. My only recourse now is to pollard every year to control size or eliminate the problem with a chain saw. Every year around February, there is an article in our local paper complaining about people like me who ruin crepe myrtles. One one my neighbors (the street cop) gave me his two cents as I was on my ladder dropping branches left and right with my loppers.
Wow, what an awkward situation - you haven't asked for the guy's opinion, and he gives it to you anyway, and you probably don't get to tell him that you HAVE to trim the trees because SOMEONE ELSE planted them improperly.
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