Tuesday, April 5, 2011

REGULAR TREES AND IMPORTANT SPECIAL TREES...

Heidy-Ho, Blogging Buddies! I know. The Title makes no sense. Perhaps I can shed some light on it.

You all know there are regular trees. Yep. Got lots of them over here in Southwest Louisiana, for certain! In fact, if you take a dead stick and push it in the ground, you will have a new tree in your yard within a week. Really. No kidding. It is THAT stinkin' fertile over here!! (This is as opposed to the spousal unit having to rent a jackhammer in order to plant two VERY small pecan trees in our front yard in central Texas. It is THAT stinkin' rocky over there!) So... while I am truly a lover of all-things-tree, there are some sacrifices that must be made. Such was what we decided a few weeks ago.

There is a phenomenal live oak tree in the back yard. Unfortunately, it was being "blocked" on the south side by a couple of pecan trees so its growth was angling to the north. There was also some sort of (unknown-to-me) tree on the south fence line that was likely blocking some sunlight and wasn't very attractive. I truly miss my friend, Scott, with Austin Beautiful Trees. He is the best arborist ever!! But he doesn't make "yard calls" to Louisiana. So... I began searching for recommendations for someone here to take these three trees out. I found someone and his crew did a wonderful job. Take a look!! The first tree to fall was a pecan. I wasn't there for its demise. The next victi... uh... tree to begin prepping was the "I don't know" tree. Some limb cutting high up got it ready for a fall.
But first... let's take down that second pecan tree. Ready! Set! Oops!!!
Yeah... we'll need to be replacing a few pickets on that fence. LOL!! No real harm done... just not the "perfect" fall the guy was going for. Last one to fall was the "I don't know" tree. It came down perfectly.
Whew!! All the "big guys" are finally down. Now it's a matter of cutting them up to manageable pieces and hauling off the debris. We are keeping the manageable pieces to be taken to our place near Junction, TX, where there is an outdoor fire/BBQ pit that will welcome them! Oh yes. Pecan-grilled anything. YUMMY!!! Believe me... there is a "mess of" wood that will be traveling to TX this year. What do you do with all those big ol' stumps? No problem. Meet Mr. Stump Grinder!! All very cool. For those of you who were afraid I wouldn't find anything entertaining to do over here, rest assured. One finds ways to amuse oneself when there is no movie theatre or Starbucks available. :)

So, Mary Nell. What about those "important special trees" you referenced in the title? What is that all about? We received a link to a live video of a bald eagle nest. The tree holding this miracle is a very important and special tree. Today we watched the mother feed the two chicks that have hatched. There is a third egg in the nest as I type that will hopefully provide chick #3 to the family. If you have some time and are a bird-lover, you really want to take a peek at this. I'm afraid this is going to occupy an awful lot of my time as I wait for the chicks to fledge and leave the nest!! Oh well. Remember... there is no movie theatre! :) Click here to go to the feed. You will have to endure a 30-second commercial... but it is worth it. Whomever placed the camera has a remote control and is very accomodating in panning to the limb one of the eagle pair may land on as well as zooming in when the chicks are in view. Now that's a job I could do!! Oh... and check out the number of other viewers indicated at the bottom of the screen. It's not just you watching!

So... remember that all trees have a purpose. I reckon if they do, that has to mean we all have one, too!! I hope you find yours in life. Until next post...