Let's hear it for an open mind. At 1 p.m. Thursday I drove past the Morton Ave. bungalow courtyard whose two old junipers were sentenced to be chopped down yesterday, and I saw that they were still there. So I emailed around and found that the landlord of the property has given the trees a reprieve of at least a week. A tenant of the property wrote to me that:

I spoke to the landlord and he said the reason that he wants to remove the trees is because his landscaper told him that the roots were affecting the concrete and possibly the foundation. I got him to agree to give us a week to look into the matter, and I offered to research and/or pay for a specialist to come out and make a determination. [In case the current landscapers are wrong in their assessment] my goal is to get a credible second opinion.

After chatting with [the landlord], it does appear that his concerns are valid, and so it is up to us now to address them. I have to give him props for hearing us out and giving us a chance to save the trees.

Chicken Corner -- as well as many others in the communty -- breathes a cautious sigh of relief for the junipers.

The property in question, at 1622, has a for-sale sign in front.