Brrr...it's cold outside

It seems winter is finally here. The temperatures have dropped to about 7ºC and the northern winds are brisk. Okay so it's not THAT cold but Romans are really sensitive to the slightest change in temperature for fear of falling ill. It is probably 85ºF inside our house because we feel "the chill". (read low and suspensfully: Dumdadumdummm.....)
But it really seems like winter because the trees lining our block were viscously trimmed to the core last week. Not a single leaf left and most of the branches were butchered as well. As if Edward Scissorhands had gone mad and was seeking revenge, but solely on our block.



The other blocks were lucky enough to escape the wrath of the Italian tree pruners.
It's really sad and I hope they grow back to their full glory because they make the street feel so empty and abandoned.
Here's a nice shot of some paper advertisement crumpled and stuffed into the neck of the tree outside our building.



Ironic isn't it?

Why would they do this you ask? Well, Rome is a pretty dirty city and people like to litter. I know there are many cities in Italy that are immaculately clean and spotless but Rome is not one of them. As for the trees being whacked we think it was to protect people from falling and slipping on the wet leaves when it rains and hence suing the city if they get hurt. Couldn't someone just sweep the leaves away? Probably but c'mon that would require too much time and energy and it maybe costs less just to kill the trees. Or maybe they were infested with termites aphids or something of the sort. We may never know the whole truth yet in my naive brain I am thinking they just trimmed the branches to encourage new growth. I am patiently waiting for spring. New year, new growth.