No, the irony isn't lost on me. Yes, my last post was titled: For Trees So Tall. And yes, we did just obliterate our superbly tall tree. Somewhere a black mark has been placed next to our name.
We had a very naughty tree living in our parking strip. So, after much to-do over the years, after gutting our sewer and water pipes, after ripping up our sidewalk and growing it's roots clear across our front yard into our neighbors and after much litter and darn sweet gumballs, we decided the time had come. We got permission from the city to have it taken down. But not without first selecting our replacement tree.
That was tough. We were limited to finding another LARGE tree (think 100 footer) and included in the cities outdated list was our own offender with shallow roots, the Sweetgum. So, I knew that we had to do more than just pick from the short list they gave us. Finally after much searching, we diverted a bit from the list (and size) and purchased a Ginkgo and were given the clear from the city. The arborists were called in and we all gathered to watch when they took it down. It's amazing what brings everyone in a neighborhood together. All the neighbors, outside in the street, watching the tree come down in pieces. Everyone was giddy with excitement and all had stories to tell about other trees they had seen on the street over the years. When the trunk sections came crashing down it shook the whole street and left scars on the street. It was quick. Like pulling a bandaid. And I felt a tinge of guilt - but kept thinking of all the damage it had done, and was destined to continue. I tried to focus my irritation at the folks that planted it in the parking strip, not the best home for a sweet gum, a bit short-sighted.
Tonight, ever wonderful Rooster plowed in and dug through the clay dirt and root tangles to create space for the new tree that had been delivered. We planted it with Sparrow's placenta, which seemed like the perfect way to mark the occasion of this new tree coming to our home, the very place where Sparrow was born. It was raining, Jbird was an overtired mess, and we were so rushed to get it into the ground before bedtime, before dark. There was no ceremony. In fact, I almost forgot what we had planned and thankfully Rooster remembered before we placed the tree. Perhaps by the time Sparrow is old enough to hear about his tree, we'll have forgotten how we left out the ceremony. We'll have created our own story by then.
For now, the story starts with this tree, planted in honor of Sparrow and his birth in our home, in our family.
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