Arbor Day Message Board

[sprucetree22]

Back in 1973 our family moved in to a new subdivision. I was 14 years old and my parents bought a ranch house on a 3/4 acre lot. I helped lay out the sod and transplanted many pernieals from our old house which was on a double lot. We bought and planted 15 trees; green ash mountain ashes, corkscrew willow, hawthorne,and apple pear and peach. Over the years I kept the fruit trees trimmed and removed the hawthorne and corkscrew willow to diesease. The green ash was bought for $1 at kmart blue lite special. It was planted off the patio for shade. About 15 years ago my Dad had a tree trimmer come in because the leaves were clogging the gutter. The man said it was $100 to trim it or $100 to remove it. So he removed it and planted a norway maple there. My parents now live in an apartment and I've taken on the landscaping this spring. No need to worry about the lawn they have trugreen and lwn service. My Mother was in charge of placement and my Father and I dug the planting holes. I decided it was time to remove the pear and apple tree since no body was eating the fruit when they did produce,I'd pick up the apples by the bushel and give them to hunting friends. Needless to say cutting down a 35 year old apple was hard emotionally and physically.[The tree was a housewarming gift from my aunt.] It also had a swing that was used by the grandkids. As I was cutting it down the apple smell was given off by the woodchips and when I cut the trunk I was amazed at how buetiful the

[sprucetree22]

TThe heartwood was . It was as if nature had made an abstract painting as the trunk area grew larger the heartwood grew out in little pools of reddish brown. I made vertical cuts and this really made the heartwood shine. I'm going to save these pieces and give them a varnish finish. The pear and peach trees I cut down didn't have this heartwood coloration and niether did the maple though it wasn't as old. Luckily my mom had a good eye when planting the trees as there is a spruce that blocks the view to the street and I'm not touching that one or the mountain ashes. So tommorow I will hack out the stumps and plant sod there. I've got 4 blue spruce trees that I got from Arbor Day 3yrs ago and will plant them where the fruit trees were growing but not to close to the power lines. I remember reading somewhere about two feet from the old stump. Well maybe I can put a few sedums around the conifers to balance the planting.