The Tree Is Dead!

Long Live The Tree!

The Cottonwood tree has been dead a long time, and becoming more and more dangerous with each passing wind storm.  It was frightening to be out around it when the winds were gusting.  Large branches were falling down.  It was quite scary when they hit the roof.

Last Snowstorm -  See Post 4/15/15

Now we have just a stump.  Well, an eight or nine foot stump. I made them leave me material for discs to make a pathway behind the new pergola.  Pergola?? Yes, we are replacing the greenhouse with a pergola (more about that later).

A New Canvas

I also want a stump to carve with a chainsaw like I saw on Rehab Addict.  It was so fun with mushrooms and flowers carved into it.  That will be a new experience (for Dan, not me.  I'm not allowed to touch sharp objects.).  Dan suggested making a rooster.  He is the artist.  Maybe a flower or two, too??

I will show two more pictures of the tee cutting process then let Dan talk about them on his blog.  This is the tree cutter's outfit stretched across my front yard.  He said if it were any further out he would have needed a crane.  

The truck was parked up on the sidewalk.  It was quite a reach to the tree.

Of course, Dan watched the whole thing and took pix and movies.  He  was like a kid at a parade.  He would love to be right up there in the cherry picker doing this.  It was a great adventure.  I stayed in the house where it was safer.  My work outdoors that morning was in the danger area.

I told myself I would be well this week.  Dan laughed and said, "That's what you said last week."  I know.  Positive thinking didn't do it last week.  Now I am two weeks out from the start of the flu, and the horrible cyst has been lanced that is on the upper middle of my back.  It became a staph infection with cellulitis and I had to have a week of antibiotics before the doctor sent me to surgery.  It was extremely painful and I spent last week down resting in spite of my plans to be well.  Now it is still doing what things like this do, (gross alert--oozing), but the pain is much less.  I am on another antibiotic now and it still hurts to pick up anything heavy, so I am easing into the work.

Yesterday I spent  few hours potting some of the beautiful flowers I purchased a few weeks ago.  I am on a tropical theme for my new patio--all colorful reds and oranges and yellows.   Here is one of the pots I planted.

I don't expect the lilies to last all summer, even though the tag says it will, but the dahlias will get bigger and I can pull up the lily bulb and plant it in the yard for next year.  I also planted pretty fuchsia geraniums.  I left them out in the rain and they are beat up from the hail. 

 I quit early to rest, and it rained hard all afternoon anyway.  We live in Camelot this year. 

The rain may never fall till after sundown.
By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here
In Camelot.

It is not quite that good; it rained all day Sunday--that's OK. Saturday and yesterday the rain came in mid-afternoon (see the blue sky in the pix) through the night and stopped in the morning.  It is cool and everything is damp, but it is beautiful for working outdoors. The rainclouds are forming in the west again and a downpour is expected this afternoon.   Summer is coming at it's appointed time this year.  This is a real Spring.

HAPPY PLANTING

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