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On an overcast and dreary day, my husband went out back to battle the trees.
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If you remember, we planted 6 trees in the north forty 2 years ago. Four maples and two cherries. The maples are thriving, the cherries are dead… thanks in no small part to the deer who apparently see cherry wood and think “snack time”!
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Dry and brittle, my husband thought it would be a simple thing to rip them out of the ground.
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He was mistaken.
Our miserable backyard clay was not letting go.
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He pulled, he tugged, he dug, and finally resorted to sawing them down.
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Take that you stubborn dead tree.
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Healthy maple tree on the right.
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Dead cherry #2.
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Just as difficult to remove as #1.
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A hard fought battle.
But he was victorious .
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Trees can grow very strong roots before they die from outside forces. I had to dig some up too, they lived a year or two then succumbed to cold or heat or disease. (No deer in our yard.) The ones in soil came up easy enough, but the one in clay had shot its roots down below the depth of the clay layer. I was more persistent. I dug down below the clay, then filled the hole with good soil before planting a new tree on the same spot. That was many years ago. The replacement is still growing, though it is stunted.
Meanwhile, the cedar which was slso planted in clay is 17 years old now, but only 4 feet high. It refuses to give up, even with our harsh wimters. I stopped wrapping it about 5 years ago, and it hasn’t been adversely affected. But it only grows about an inch a year.To reach its full height will take a long long time.
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We dug out a good bit of clay and replaced it with soil when we planted the cherry trees, but alas… it didn’t matter.
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This is sad.
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And should have said , this was many years ago, when I could still move m ost of my body parts. If I tried to dig a hole right now, it might get 2″ deep!
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I can’t move that dry clay at all. It’s like cement…
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How’s the porch project going? Siding up yet? Or have I missed that update somehow
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Check back tomorrow.
😉
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I’m mourning all those would-be cherry desserts!
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You and me both!
😫
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It’s a sad thing to have to remove a dry tree from your yard. I had to do that with my beautiful pear tree that gave me two summers of pears. Then last summer, the heat killed it, no matter how much I took care of it or watered it. No deer here though, just stupid pigeons that pecked at the ripe pears.
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I feel you. We lost our entire blueberry crop to crows this year.
😡
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Your property is beautiful. I know that’s not the main focus here, but these pictures really highlight its beauty.❤️
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Thank you. We try, but it’s a constant battle between weather and critters. Very short growing season here.
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The tree fought back! Gotta love it.
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All victories are great ones. Well done Mr River 😊
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I dunno why but the battle shots gave me the giggles.
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Happy to oblige.
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Oh, I hate losing a tree. We lost our shady ficus and a pear tree this year. Since the ficus fell in a storm, it had to be removed. But the pear tree is still standing, dead and ugly.
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My husband transplanted a baby oak 8 years ago. It’s a dry dead twig but he refuses to dig it up.
Hope springs eternal.
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AWWWW
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Bummer that you lost your cherry trees. We’re thinking of planting fruit trees next year, and cherry is high on my list. But we do have deer…
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We have 4 apples and two pears the deer never touch. These they stripped in no time flat… be warned.
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Pear tree it is!
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Sorry they didn’t make it. Are you putting anything back in?
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Not right now. Maybe next spring…
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Oh Fred………lol
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