Just One More

I’ve told you before how my sweetie has this thing for trees…(just like kids) he always thinks there’s room for one more. With the kids that’s been no problem, but with the trees, well, we’ve had a few issues. First we had the pear trees. There were two of them, and they we skinny little spindly things that each produced about 8 pears every season. They were also very needy and after about 4 seasons, they both died a premature death during a particularly cold winter. 

Random photo of Scout and Curly (but it's cute, don't you think?)

Then there was the peach tree. It was amazing! It grew quickly and produced huge delicious peaches nearly every year. Sadly, that’s what did it in. One season the peaches were so numerous and so heavy that the whole tree cracked right down the middle. We pulled it out the next spring. The apple trees were next. The one in the backyard became blighted and died the same winter as the pear trees. We had four beautiful columnar apple trees that threw their harvest onto the neighbor’s driveway. He was all too happy to help us pull them out a couple of years ago. 

Redbud pic credit

Just lately we have another problem. About ten years ago my sweetie planted a beautiful redbud in a raised flowerbed on the corner of the driveway. What were we thinking!? Now that we have five drivers living in the house not counting Grandpa, parking is at a premium. Our garage is full of bikes, Power Wheels, camping gear, and the Drama Queen’s stuff, so it is no help at all. It was finally time to pull out the redbud. 

We had actually talked about this event several years ago and my sweetie vetoed the idea. Then last summer when Grandpa moved in, my sweetie relented and I vetoed the idea. But this time the only one trying to chain herself to the tree was the Prima Donna. (I think she was really just looking for an excuse to get out of her chores…although she swears that isn’t true!) 


So early one Saturday morning, my sweetie and the Dog Walker dragged out the chainsaws and left us a five-foot high stump. It was truly an eyesore! After a couple of weeks of bad weather, they eventually got back to the task. With shovels and the pickaxe, they chopped and stabbed at the huge roots growing from the bottom of the stump. 

After three or four days of back-breaking labor and quite a few blisters, they tied a strap around the trunk. They attached the other end to our rust-colored 70 Chev pickup and proceeded to pull. The strap broke immediately! They decided to dig for a couple more days. A kind neighbor drove by and took pity on them. He offered his huge truck and a real chain, so on Monday morning, he came over. Sadly, even his big truck was no match for those stubborn roots. 

More chopping and digging, and a visit from Blue Stakes later, and they were ready for another pull. Our wonderful neighbor returned (thanks, Lee!), and this time we had success! The tree lay on its side like a defeated giant. I felt a twinge of sadness, remembering it’s beautiful red leaves and the baby birds we all watched grow up and leave their nest last summer. We couldn’t even park our big van beneath the tree because we were afraid it would jiggle the nest and cause the little ones to fall before they were ready to fly. I guess we’ll just have to plant a new tree. After all, there’s always room for one more.

**Editor's Note:  I can't believe she told about the death of the trees without telling about the tree-bush.  I guess I will have to mention that as one to tell later. And FYI if you have a small tree (less than 8 feet in diameter) some cities will come out and move it to a park if you call and offer to donate it.  The city came out and inspected the redbud last year and decided that the tree was beautiful but unfortunately too large to get the uprooting equipment around it. 

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