Storm Trees Can Change Your Outlook

After a major storm, a community is instantly changed. Buildings may be damaged or destroyed, power lines down, and trees broken and torn.

In the wake of this loss, neighborhoods and entire cities may experience a sense of devastation they have never known before.

"Because trees are such a large part of a city's visual landscape, damage to them from a severe storm can be a major shock to residents," says John Rosenow, president of The National Arbor Day Foundation, an organization that helps people plant and care for trees.

"Seeing a favorite tree down or badly damaged in the front yard can be a traumatic experience almost like losing an old friend."

But even in the wake of this shock, Rosenow says there are ways of coping with the loss. Among other things, he counsels patience in dealing with the storm trees' consequences...