“The RoseBouquet”

Last Wednesday when I came walking back home from my office, my neighbours on the corner were waiting to ask me to move my car in the back, as they were cutting down the tree. The one that was technically on my property but affecting the garage they are building at the back of their yard. Michelle’s brother, who seems to be a tree cutter, and her dad were back there, and had already started. When I got there, they were ready to remove more of it. they showed me how the chunks they had cut were hollow and that hollow FILLED with large, moving ants!

(I only got there later with the camera).

I had been so glad that my property had trees, but what could I say? Okay, take that tree down. But then this Mike pointed out that all the trees on my property were volunteer trees. They had grown up because nobody had weeded them out when they were suckers. He pointed out how the one behind my shed is waiting to have branches broken off, and has some disease in the leaves.

I allowed as he might be able to take down the branch hanging over Joe’s garage on the other side, and likely to fall down in a strong wind, but I didn’t think he needed to cut that tree all the way down. (His dad was busy promising me that they’d clean everything up for me).

A bit later I found them in the front yard. Mike came up close to examine the tree close to my living room window which Joe and I had cut down last November because it was rubbing on my roof. We had left a stump of about 4 feet high, and about 5 or 6 inches across. This spring it shot out new branches! Green ones, to be sure, and full of leaves, but it now looks like a shrub (it was in last week’s garden photo story).

When I came out he pointed out that the green branches would soon thicken up and that tree would start crowding my house. Minutes later were were looking at the bigger tree out near the sidewalk and street. Right in the Y joint of the two main trunks, we saw something I had not noticed before. A brown foam seems to be coming out - like when something has begun to ferment!

Oh no! Am I going to lose all my trees? I began to feel a bit peeved, although I tried to keep up a good front. Mike’s tree saw had just broken so he had to leave to get it fixed, but he offered to take the dead branches out that are hanging in the tree. I’ll be glad to see him do that, but I have a sinking feeling that I’ll have to give up that whole tree eventually too.

I can’t afford to have mature trees balled and planted here. So I’m feeling a bit down on the mouth over that. Much as I appreciate that they are offering to remove these bad trees at no cost to me. I try not to think about it too much.