Monday, May 24, 2010

Standing Tall


Oh, how I love this old tree in our backyard.  It's definitely seen better, stronger days.  There are signs of rot.  Various snowstorms and windstorms have taken their toll on this magnificent giant.  But even yesterday, with 60-70 mile per hour winds, this tree didn't back down (which is more than I can say for some of the other trees around our house).  It gently swayed and moved with the gusts, giving a creak now and then, but staying strong. 

My husband wants to cut it down.  He says it's only a matter of time before it gives way.  And, unfortunately, if it did fall in a storm, there's no guaranteeing that it wouldn't fall in the direction of our home. 

But I argued that it was still strong and hardy and would stand for a few years yet.  {Of course, I wasn't at all sure if this was true, but I had to defend my tree!}  Besides, I said, look at all of those holes in the trunk.  Too many of our dear feathered friends call this tree Home. 

Not to mention, we'd be depriving this little forest gnome of his little peek-a-boo spot.  We can't have that, now can we?
So, for now, the tree stands.  I convinced my husband to let it be, and leave its final demise in the capable hands of Mother Nature.  So, rest assured, dear tree, you can go ahead and open those reluctant buds of yours.  It's springtime and we're waiting to see your beauty unfurl.

2 comments:

  1. The tree reminds of a Disney movie and I can picture all of the little creatures living in the tree. Too bad they can't be like the ones in Cinderella and help you around the house! That would free up more "you" time wouldn't it? Ah more time, don't we all need it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. :) So, funny you mentioned the Cinderella mice, Jess. Just last week, Roo said, "Wouldn't it be wonderful to have some cute, pink-eared mice sing and dance with us, like in that movie?" {She refers to Cinderella as "that movie" because she's only seen it once and it totally scared her -- way too much drama (evil stepsisters, the cat going after the mice, etc.) for my tender-hearted girl to handle!}

    I've found that most of the really large trees around our house (even the totally dead ones) are teeming with woodland life. Mark and Roo are already making plans to build an owl house, a bat house, and a butterfly house. As I speak, my handy husband is hanging his first homemade birdhouse on one of our big trees. :)

    ReplyDelete