TYLER, Texas — East Texas is no stranger to tree damage whenever significant weather moves through the area. In rain, snow, hail or sleet, tree limbs are bound to fall on property, cars and homes.
Experts with the Texas A&M Forest Service said May is the busiest time for storm damage. With the number of fallen tree limbs and half-broken trees spread throughout East Texas, some question if it's worth preserving.
"If a truck of a tree is completely slipped and let's say, half of that tree is gone, that pretty much borderline for whether to keep it or not," Courtney Blevins, regional forester for Texas A&M Forest Service.
Cam Dockery, owner of Bearly Making It-Chainsaw Carving out of West Texas, uses his talents to turn half-broken tree stumps into a complete body of art.
"After a big storm happens, I typically get a lot of calls," Dockery said. "In East Texas, there are hundreds of trees and oak trees that work really well for on-site carvings."
One of his latest works of art was done in the Azalea District near downtown Tyler.
Devon Smith and her husband, Rory, moved to East Texas in March 2021 and immediately noticed the significant storm damage left by the straight-line winds that swept through the Azalea District last summer.
"It was a large oak tree that fell directly across the road," Devon Smith said. "I was very grateful that we had sort of preemptively taken care of our tree just to make sure that it wouldn't cause as much damage."
Instead of letting their oak tree perish, they found a unique way to preserve it.
"Instead of having kind of an unsightly stump, Rory, my husband, had the great idea to help it live on in a different way," Smith said. "Rory said we live in the Azalea District; let's do something that kind of echoes Tyler and the history of the community we live in."
Devon and Rory Smith came across Dockery's work online and turned their 10-foot tree stump into an East Texas staple with roses and azaleas craved throughout the tree.
"It's been a really fun tourist attraction in our neighborhood," Smith said. "We have a lot of people who come by and take pictures and post them on social media, and we're glad to contribute back to our community in that way."