May 25, 2015
Trees Provide the Spice of Life

When I look at my lawn lately, it's no wonder, I think, that there are so many scads of maple trees around town.  The grounds these days are absolutely teeming with innumerable little seed pods that we, as kids, one time took great folly in sending the little whirligigs on a journey to the ground.  It was such fun watching those little helicopters flit to the ground.

That was then.  Today I'm not so amused. At the same time I'm fascinated at just how many seeds one tree can produce.  And with 7 of the beauties in my midst, litter my lawn.

It's safe to say that the maple tree is in no danger of extinction because of the sheer volume of reproductive matter that is being scattered about this time of year.  

I'm the sort of person who finds it tough to pull a lovely little mapling youngster that has sprouted in my flower bed.  They're just so cute and cuddly and, well, aren't all little youngsters hard to resist?  But despite that, I do find the need to keep up with the little fellows and weed as necessary.  The alternative, you can  imagine, would be the massive influx of numerous mighty maple tree taking over the territory.

And we just can't let that happen.  So, as I find one after another of the lovely little maple sprouts invading my space, I gingerly pluck them from the ground.  I will say in defense, that I have a little plot, my own private tree garden, where I've encouraged their growth.  Several are ready to leave the nest and live on their own somewhere - but where I have not yet determined.  Their future remains yet to be determined.

I'm an avid tree planter and the first time I experienced that was in recent years.  My first tree plan is Peter.  Peter Cottonwood, and he lives in my north yard.  In the two years since he was adopted he has tripled in size.  You just can't stop their growth, even if you put a brick on their heads, my people used to tell me, the gangling youngster who they saw on a yearly basis.  I don't think that'd have worked my case at any rate.

The next lovely tree to join my little family was Bruce.  Bruce is a Blue Spruce evergreen and since his adoption a year ago he's doubled in size. I marvel at the new shoots that he is displaying these days and look forward to him branching out into a full grown lovely conifer.

Miss Marple joined our ranks last summer.  Miss Marple is a red maple and she has already taken on the lovely hues of one season of fall foliage.  I look forward to many more years of association with my newest deciduous tree. 

Yes, I'm a tree hugger.  I adopted 3 fledgling oak trees from the lake up  north two years ago.  They'd sprouted out unwittingly on the sandy beach where I found them and rescued them.   They thrived beautifully in the soil where I planted them at home, until the harsh winter got them in its grasps and froze the life out of them.  Too bad because I was looking forward to finding homes for those remarkable mighty little oaks. 

Fear not.  Next week I'm headed to family vacation up north once again and you can bet I'll be on the look out for more sprouting acorns.  I"m sure they won't mind coming south to live and this time I'll make sure to furnish them with an insulated pot next winter.  

Now......to come up with the appropriate oak names to provide my little charges.  I'll be accepting any and all suggestions.