Here is the last picture we have of our lovely Cottonwood. When the landscaper first xeriscaped out front yard and planted this tree, it was so tiny that we had to stake it in three places and I still thought it would snap like a twig in a wind storm. Four years later, it had become a monster with huge, sprawling roots and millions of leaves that dumped all over the rocks every fall. It turns out that you aren't really supposed to plant Cottonwoods anywhere except down by the river because as they mature, they become absolutely huge. So, alas, we had to say goodbye to our little tree before it did serious damage to the infrastructure of our home.
So, here is our family's new little tree. It is a 6 ft. blue spruce. It will get quite a bit bigger, but the root system is not nearly as invasive as that of a cottonwood. Plus, it smells lovely and only drops it's needles once every three years. It also makes a great outdoor Christmas tree and I'm sure we will have fun decorating it next week if I can find another outlet for an extra string of lights.
It seems strange to have a new tree in this spot. By the time I came home from picking Amber up from preschool and doing a little shopping, the tree cutters had already cut down the cottonwood and were loading it into the truck. I didn't think they were coming so early and I felt bad about not being able to say goodbye. Dumb, I know, but I kind of feel like I betrayed an old friend.
Here is the last picture we have of our lovely Cottonwood. When the landscaper first xeriscaped out front yard and planted this tree, it was so tiny that we had to stake it in three places and I still thought it would snap like a twig in a wind storm. Four years later, it had become a monster with huge, sprawling roots and millions of leaves that dumped all over the rocks every fall. It turns out that you aren't really supposed to plant Cottonwoods anywhere except down by the river because as they mature, they become absolutely huge. So, alas, we had to say goodbye to our little tree before it did serious damage to the infrastructure of our home. 
So, here is our family's new little tree. It is a 6 ft. blue spruce. It will get quite a bit bigger, but the root system is not nearly as invasive as that of a cottonwood. Plus, it smells lovely and only drops it's needles once every three years. It also makes a great outdoor Christmas tree and I'm sure we will have fun decorating it next week if I can find another outlet for an extra string of lights.
It seems strange to have a new tree in this spot. By the time I came home from picking Amber up from preschool and doing a little shopping, the tree cutters had already cut down the cottonwood and were loading it into the truck. I didn't think they were coming so early and I felt bad about not being able to say goodbye. Dumb, I know, but I kind of feel like I betrayed an old friend.
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3 comments:
We had to cut down a huge willow tree in our backyard this summer because it could come down on our house any minute with it's rotting wood and shallow root system.... anyway, we said goodbyes to it and STILL felt sad. It was the best tire swing tree EVER. And it made me feel secluded from the neighbors.
I don't think you are strange. I think we are both strange.
I would have felt bad too. I love trees. Hopefully your new blue spruce will become a friend too. I bet there is some seriously good christmas decorating potential there. I can't wait to see what you guys do with it! A couple more weeks and we'll be decking the halls with our Albuquerque peeps. :) I've already got a set of Christmas candy and cookie recipes that we have got to try out.
I am often surprised by how emotional I get about my trees. I make Peter shake the snow off of the branches at the crack of dawn and get so sad when we lose a limb. I send the kids out to climb our apricot tree when they are driving me crazy. We just built a tree house in the back yard and my dad bought the best swing for our ginormous tree in the side yard. My trees are quite a part of our family. So, no, you aren't weird at all.
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