"Well," said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, "well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest."

And the boy did.

And the tree was happy. -The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein

There must be many happy trees along Queen Street and Glover Avenue - and many other streets - where efforts by Eversource, New England's largest energy provider, have reduced gracious trees to large stumps.

The Eversource program is intended to decrease the number of tree-related power issues that plague this rural area. Anyone who lived here during the storms of 2011 and 2012 understands the destruction wrought by fallen limbs and entire trees uprooted. Hazardous situations from downed wires and dangling branches, as well as homes crushed beneath these giants of the earth, were more than a nuisance. It is hard to argue with Eversource's tree management, knowing that the next big storm is a "when," not an "if."

Unfortunately, there is also a decrease in the beneficial attributes of trees with each tree that disappears. Foliage serves as nature's air purifier, and reduces the heat effect of summer days. Among the branches, birds and wildlife find food and shelter. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, slowing climate change, and thirsty roots contribute to stormwater management. Who has not delighted in the arc of a tire swing hung from a limb?

We live in a world where nature is at odds with civilization. We are happy to have computers, and lights, and telephones, and the internet; but tall timbers do not always accommodate our wired lives.

Author Silverstein's tree may be happy as a stump, but along the local roadways there is something sad about a line of stumps where only several weeks back we reveled in new leaves bursting from tree branches. Residents, whether walking, running, cycling, or driving, will miss the shade and beauty the trees provided.

There is an upside to the downfall of these trees, though. Borough Tree Warden Rob McCulloch, who worked with Eversource to identify deteriorating trees or trees in the Borough interfering with wires, points out that tree removal carried out by Eversource is a bonus to taxpayers, who then are not burdened by those costs - or the costs associated with toppled trees.

He says Borough residents can take heart, as he operates on the premise "for every tree taken down, a new one is planted."

Residents who approved tree removal on private property can also contribute to the regreening of the town. Eversource encourages planting trees that will mature into vegetation that does not hinder power lines or tangle roots about underground power sources. Details on the tree species and where to plant them can be found at eversource.com.

New trees will offer trunks to climb and spread out branches from which to swing - and while they may not be quite as stately as the trees whose places they take, they will accommodate our modern society.

In a few years, we will have forgotten these relatively few trees that towered over us. Perhaps, though, the stumps will remain to remind us of all those trees once offered.

"I don't need very much now," said the boy. "Just a quiet place to sit and rest…."