Santa Barbara streets are lined with beautiful old trees.
They are one of the city's defining characteristics, and they create a pleasant ambience. Seems like every other street has its tall trees.
Ancient roots crawl over curbs, making Santa Barbara look much older than it is.
While the huge old Magnolia below is not a street tree, the city owns the park it's in. Makes Jean look like a Hobbit.
Trees like this don't happen by accident. They are the result of decades of careful pruning. The tree pictured below is one that has been recently pruned—and, I might add, by experts.
All this work is performed by a full-time crew that wanders up and down the streets, year after year, shaping and thinning. They have all the cool gear: a chipper, a big truck for the chips, razor-sharp chain saws and a humongous cherry picker. I'm guessing this one reaches 40'-50', and it can be positioned rapidly and delicately. What a tool!
A city needs money to create this kind of beauty. With the average homeowner kicking in $5,000-$10,000 in property taxes, Santa Barbara can afford it.
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