This one’s a “beast” and could have “taken me out” (or anyone else) in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My humble advice: Pay close attention to enormous, older trees on your property. Although they may appear strong, stately and healthy, all trees age and can develop disease, structural weakness, hidden internal decay and a failing root system.

One recent Sunday evening, around 9:40 p.m., a thunderous roar rang out! OMG — I initially thought it was a sonic boom, an earthquake or a tremendous strike of lightning. Some neighbors told me they heard nothing as they lay in bed with the air conditioner running. Trevor, who lives two doors down, was outside in his garage and gasped to himself, “What the ‘blank’ was that?!”

Then I looked through my deck’s glass door to the backyard and began sobbing. Nothing but branches surrounding my home. A jungle. A rainy nightmare. And yet, no blown-out windows, no broken roof. Just the staircase’s two white wooden deck railings were ripped apart during the huge silver maple tree’s fatal descent. Meanwhile, the tree’s broken leader (there are several) lay on the lawn, while two-thirds of the tree remained standing tall with a huge hole gouged into the trunk.

I hired a tree service crew to come in and remove the tangled mess, which took several hours to do on a hot, humid day. That was phase one. The remainder of the tree has to go, and that’s a more intricate process. My pocketbook will take a hefty hit because, let’s face it — home insurance doesn’t cover much when it comes to trees on your property.

Like other cities and towns, Nashua is filled with enormous, century-old trees. Many can be found standing strong and looking healthy in Ward 7. But are they really in good shape? Should they be taken down?

The way I understand it, my city assigns the Department of Public Works and the Parks and Recreation Department to trim, prune and remove any troublesome trees on city property and public rights of way. If your tree’s branches are near electrical power lines, Eversource will usually come out to clear the lines free of charge. However, if the “bad” tree is on your property, it’s probably your responsibility 95% of the time.

It can cost several thousand dollars to remove a huge, old tree, and that was one of the reasons a couple of former neighbors had moved out, so I was later told. I purchased the home with the lovely courtyard, but I was clueless about the health of this majestic living plant.

If a crane is involved with lifting and swinging pieces like a tree’s limbs and leaders over rooftops, the cost skyrockets! That’s a major piece of machinery that takes incredible skill to operate and expensive insurance to maintain. Sometimes, there’s no other way to get the tree out except with a crane. And that, unfortunately, is what I’m facing next week.

Silver maples grace many Nashua area backyards and businesses. However, this tree can become a massive problem. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, the silver maple is “the fastest-growing of any maple species. It can easily reach 50 feet in height within 20 years.” And because of this, they’re more prone to branch weakness and soft wood. Then there are those annoying helicopter seeds!

I envision a cherry blossom or magnolia tree gracing my property. But first things first. It’s time to let this silver beast and beauty go.