Having a nemesis can be a great thing. It fuels your ire, thwarts all your well honed plans and jumps up and bites you when you least expect it.
When your nemesis is below you on the Chain of Being, you may just have a chance.
Back in April I posted about my nemesis, a massive oak that overhangs the garden, and, subsequently, the house. There's one limb in particular that fuels my ire because it overhangs the garden and delights in dropping bushels of acorns on my beds which must be primed to sprout and dig in for glory as soon as they hit the earth for those suckers sure do root fast. This same limb thwarts all my plans for garden design since shade is a fierce antagonist to growth. Well, we saw the limb's ante and raised it the full tree, for as you see below, the tree was growing out from behind another large oak, just reaching for the sun,
and the sun just happened to be in the direction of the house. So, the story goes that we had a dead pine in the forest that needed culling, and my brother-in-law knew a good tree climber who took care of it right quick.
We pointed him in the direction of the offending limb, and it went the way of the pine.
However, once cut, we could truly see that it was the tree, itself, that was the danger to the house, so down it came.
And now there's a blank spot where the beautiful oak used to be.
When we moved into the house, the oak was one of our favorite things, yet we've had numerous trees fall all around us and knew this one to be a danger in our soil. Yes, it's straight Georgia clay, but with all the rain we've had, the oaks are toppling one by one. It's better to be safe than sorry. I'm thinking it may have granted the garden a half an hour to an hour more sun....that is if it doesn't do as a good nemesis should and bite me in the end by giving the other trees more room to spread out and hinder the sun if not as much, then certainly more so than the original branch did. You know, I'd almost be disappointed if it didn't.
Until then, we've got a cool little two tiered stump from which the kids can play, "King of the Hill."
I'm thinking our holiday cards from now on will be taken right here, in honor of my nemesis.
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That guy needs to come to my house, because there's several large tree limbs that shade the 4x9 box. I could easily get another hour of sunlight....I hope your work gives you more sunlight, as I know you really need it. The kids look cute!
ReplyDeleteSorry to see a great oak tree meet its demise, but it sure makes for a great prop to take adorable pictures of the kids.
ReplyDeleteI have a love hate relationship with the trees in my yard. In my case, it's a giant maple right next to my patio, which if removed, would great several extra HOURS of direct sunlight to my veggie garden...I just don't have the heart to cut it down and my better half probably wouldn't let me...which means, I'll just have to expand my garden to several different areas on our plot to get better sunlight.
ReplyDeleteIf the tree itself wasn't a danger to the house, we wouldn't have touched it. Several of our neighbors have lost huge trees recently, one on Thursday as we all watched. If it wasn't for that, I'm sure the tree would stand for a long time to come.
ReplyDeleteMost of the trees that shade my garden are in my neighbor's yard. I do need to get someone to come out and cut all my dead branches though. I have a lot of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, EG.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, if you were around here, all it takes is one good freezing rain and all of those branches would come down. Our trees aren't used to that weather and they snap at the first oportunity.
What a bonus, even if temporary. Enjoy that wood, too.
ReplyDeleteI am surrounded by tall trees and would gladly do a little judicious removal of some of them but my husband will have none of it. I may just have to out last him and then have them taken out then! LOL! For now, I work around my shadow makers.
ReplyDeleteCute picture of the kids on the stump.
I cried when my parents had to have one of their maple trees in front of the house removed. It was as old as the house. It was a danger to the house also. It was obvious that it had to go, but it was sad nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteThe additional light will be so good for your garden.
Your pictures make me long for my home. Those TALLLLLL pine trees and skinny oaks. Put me in Kentucky for 10 years with the horses and the bourban balls. Yes it's nice but I'll still want to go home to the swamplands of SE Georgia where pine cones fall on your head while you try to mow the lawn.
ReplyDelete