Spring? And the Big Maple

34°f this morning, or 1°C. Warming quickly, currently

52°.

Is it Spring already? Some plants seem to think so. My crocus are beginning to bloom,

and the big maple out front is budding out.

Of course, both of these are always early, and indeed the maple often gets bitten back two or three times because of its foolhardy ways. But ih, this balmy breeze! Cold will return tomorrow, so I hear, so it's a "gather ye rosebuds while ye may" kind of day.

Speaking of the big maple, this tree is now 46 years old. We planted it as a sapling from a friend's yard. He had actually tied it in a knot, trying to kill it off. That didn't do anything except make a place in the tree that is now rotting out.

We had considered cutting the tree down a few years back because it is too close to the house, especially since we expanded the deck and added the log room. But then it lost the big limb that had us most worried, and since it now leans away from the house we decided to keep its shade as long as we can. It does block the view, and drops thousands of leaves and twigs every year, but that shade! It is worth the hassle.

And look, a squirrel has made the tree its home.

Hundreds of birds have lit on its branches and built nests well hidden from view in those 46 years. At one time grandchildren clambered up into its reaches, too.

How long will the tree hold on? There is no way of knowing,  of course, but my hope is that it will still be standing when I finally leave this place.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.