Our tree is no more. Here it is in its former glory. Only one of the hated Norway Maples, but even so it gave us shade in the summer, and a place for the birds and squirrels to hang out, and beauty in the winter.
In May, Sara called the City (the tree belonged to the City even though it was on our front lawn) to get some dead branches trimmed. One day, Sara arrived home to a notice on the door that the tree had been condemned. It was sicker than it looked, I guess.
The next step didn't come until August, when Sara came home to a denuded tree. Many tears were shed.
Luckily, she was spared the final blow. That came last Tuesday, when a crew showed up to cut down the tree. It took them only about an hour to do the deed. Then they swept up the worst of the wood chips and were gone.
Our now treeless front yard.
Our neighbours got one section of the stump and we got another. With the loan of another neighbour's dolly, two of us got the stump to the patio in back. Stumps are much heavier than they look; my back is still sore.
There will be a happy ending to the story: any day now, we expect a crew to come and dig out the remains of the stump and plant a tulip tree. We look forward to many happy years with it.
As for Grey Cat, we do not yet know the ending to that story. Grey Cat, sleek, bold, beautiful and deadly, is this household's nemesis. The humans of the house dislike her because she catches birds, patiently waiting under cover near the back bird feeder. We've had to clear out a lot of the undergrowth in the back so that she wouldn't have so much cover. The final straw came a couple of weeks ago when I actually saw her catching a bird. Now we've got some evil-looking plastic spikes (ordered from Lee Valley) covering the area where she usually waits.
The cats of the house dislike Grey Cat because she taunts them; she actually jumps up on the windowsills of the bedroom or living room to fight with them through the window. This makes them insane and makes me run out of the house with the spray bottle. Someday I'm going to try a bucket of water.
Postscript:
Haven't seen our goldfinches or mourning doves, or even many sparrows, for quite a while now. I hope it's seasonal rather than feline-related. I am happy to relate, though, that today some hermit thrushes showed up. They are one of the funniest birds I've ever seen: basically a brown ball with a head, tail, stick legs, and beady round eyes. We all enjoy them because they're not shy; they hang out on the patio by our bedroom window.
5 comments:
A tulip tree and a stump! That's not so bad after all.
re Grey Cat: what about a super soaker? Hours of entertainment and easier to aim than a bucket.
Hugs.
The hermits are back; yay! I can't wait to get home and watch them with Daisy. She always yells at me when the hermit thrushes are in town and I get too close to the window.
See you soon!
xoxo
Remember the child's fairy tale about belling the cat? Time for a BELL!
A super soaker would be fun except that it's kind of bulky to keep next to the door.
I have often considered belling the cat but then I have paranoid thoughts about the cat hanging itself while jumping our fence, etc. I've also thought of putting a collar on the cat with a note to its owners to keep it inside! Same fear, though. It can't help being a cat; I blame the owners.
Love the description of the hermit thrushes, have never seen one but will have to google an image now for sure!
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