Tree Thoughts

We’ve had a wet spring and early summer. Everything that likes water is getting water. I’m cautiously optimistic we might make it to fall without losing anything. Our drought status is stage 1, mild. That seems good. I’ve also noticed that water is coming over the dam at Blanco River State Park, and that’s a good sign, too. Of course, this means a lot of mowing, but I’m okay with that.

Over the last several days we’ve spent time trimming trees, getting the big oak off the roof, and shaping up some of the smaller trees. The little lacy oak in the yard in front of the big oaks, is finally starting to branch out. For the longest time its canopy retained a ball like shape, not at all in keeping with it relatives just across the drive who sent out long branches like they were begging for swings. I’m cautiously optimistic that over the next several years our driveway will become a tunnel of trees and I think that makes for an inviting entrance. Like, come on in and sit a spell. It’s cool in the shade.

At some point this summer we might even start trimming up the Mountain Laurels. At the moment, both of them look like giant bushes, well over six feet tall, and it might be fun to lift those branches off the ground and see the trunks. Although, there’s really no rush. Sometimes it’s fun to let a tree just do what it does, take the sun, take the water, and grow how it wants to grow, and let nature do the pruning.