So in your Christmas prayers this yearafter which we would all go outside and scatter seeds for the critters.
Alfie asked me if I'd ask you:
Say a prayer for the wind and the water and the wood
And those who live there, too
Last year the tradition extended to the next generation with an adaptation entitled Alfie the Texas Christmas Tree. I hope the grands are reading it tonight ...
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| Meliss, Jackson, Griffin, and Meg |
But this year, Don and I are spending Christmas Eve on the homestead, so earlier today I put food out at the critter feeding station (aka the compost heap). Then I walked the property, looking at the amazing transformation wrought by two days of work by trained arborists. This is one example of the results ...
compared to all the deadwood before ...
The crew from Bartlett filled three trucks with wood chips, which they left behind so we can create more paths. This is the view looking toward the house of what I was able to do today ...
and here's the same section with a view out to the floodplain ...
There's also a large pile out by the west trail that we had abandoned after the Halloween flood last year ...
Now we'll be able to fill in the deep gaps between the rocks and make the trail passable again ...
Not our usual Christmas Eve, but with a cool breeze and crystalline blue skies, it was a gift from the universe, gratefully received.
With best wishes to all for a peaceful holy-day ...
these photographs of your work ....... ahhhh. so satisfying to watch along....
ReplyDeleteand to you...i hope your day is Good and Full
love,
Thank you ... time flew, which I have always taken as an indicator of time well spent
DeleteWow that's a job well done!
ReplyDeleteback in October a big Silky Oak tree ( not an oak at all, it's an Aussie native rainforest tree Grevillea robusta) was removed from one of our customers gardens by the next door neighbours who hated it for making cracks in their driveway. The tree men mulched it all up and left it in a big pile (app 4 cubic yards)ready for us to spread it round the garden on our next visit but within a few days the customer rang and said the mulch pile was smoking! I said oh don't worry we'll be there next week to move it and didn't think about it again (sure compost piles get hot but have never seen one catch fire especially not within a week of being chipped!) but it had caught fire and thank goodness a heavy rain put it out the day bedore we moved it, the ash was a bit toxic though (should have worn a mask) you are smart to get your piles made in winter!
Wow, I never thought about them catching fire ... but I did put a mask on after the first load since it was incredibly dusty.
DeleteInteresting that you mentioned another Grevillea ... so I looked it up and your Greville sounds like our Lindheimer (although not the same time period)
Deletesuch an excellent job you've done in your wild garden
ReplyDeleteHappily we'll never run out of things to do ... but that is what gardening is all about, right?
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