The Suburban Version of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox

It was a sad day in our backyard last night when I finally got around to taking down the Red Bud tree. This was the tree that never developed its beautiful pink Spring blooms and did not sprout a single leaf this year. A landscape friend of Matt's said that the best thing to do was to cut it down since there was no hope of it coming back to life. This tree had been a source of delight and complete frustration since it was installed over 4 years ago. We loved to look at it, but the branches had a mind of their own and would grow in just the right direction so you could not easily walk under the tree. We always had to walk around it by stepping into the flower beds, or going under it by lifting branches and hoping whoever was behind you did not get slapped in the face, and finally just avoiding it altogether and walking under the deck to get to the yard. But we really did not want to let it go. There was some discussion early in the growing season that I was the source of death because I pruned the limbs back so that I could walk under it, but as I found out, an insect infestation was the real culprit.

I still cannot believe how easy it was to tear apart this tree. It took me about one hour and I used my hands for most of the demo. The poor tree just crumbled in my hands like soup crackers. It was also interesting to note that something that had a span of at least 10 feet could be reduced to the contents of a blue tub and a few limbs. I tried to break the largest limbs down further, but by this time my arms and shoulders were getting sore and I had taken a branch in the knee when it snapped a little too easily. I have everything lined up and ready to be taken over to my parent's house this afternoon. The tree will get a new brief life as firewood for their outdoor pit.

So my dedicated companion and myself were able to call it a day. We need to get our rest for a few more projects this weekend before Matt gets home. I spoke with him last night and he is just as exhausted from his labors. He won't be home until Sunday night, so that gives us a lot of time to wait. In the meantime there is a lot of weeding to be done, grass to be cut and deck boards to be lightly sanded. Plus, I need to go pick out the deck stain at the store after I take my measurements. Thanks to my instructions from the Paint Quality Institute, I should be able to tackle this project over the next few weeks. But, we'll see what really happens.