Monday Morning Musings

Posted on October 3, 2016 under Monday Morning Musings with 4 comments

Muriel’s tree

“ I think that I shall never see,

A poem lovely as a tree.”

Trees by Joyce Kilmer

Last Friday, one of the oldest homes on our street was torn down, taking with it a house full of memories. A few days earlier, a crew of expert arborists came in and removed several large trees to make way for the demolition team. It is inherently sad to see something that has taken Mother Nature decades to grow, come tumbling down in a matter of minutes.

One tree was left untouched but it turns out that this was a temporary reprieve.  For some reason , a stately fir tree in excess of 30 feet in height, wasn’t cut down.

I happened to be talking to one of the neighbors and discovered that this particular tree was near and dear to the home’s previous owner. Apparently it had been planted as a seedling the length of your pinkie finger. And over the decades, it grew and grew to become one of the most beautiful  ( and straight ) trees you will ever see. I also learned that the destruction of this tree was causing significant angst to the person who nurtured it from birth.

On the day of the demolition, I was on the way out the door for a dental appointment. Betty casually suggested that I try and save the tree from the wrecking ball. Now , I appreciate nature as much as the next guy but I could hardly be accused of being a raging environmentalist. Over the years, I have never chained myself to a tree or taken part in protests over clear cutting. Maybe I should have.

When I returned from the dentist an hour later, the house was three quarters razed and the fir tree was still standing. The equipment operator was taking a break and I approached him to see if there was any way of transplanting a tree of that size. He assured me that it could be done. I then asked him ( rather boldly when you come to think of it! ) if he would mind terribly not knocking down the tree.

I spent the rest of the day tracking down the new owner of the property  to get permission to keep the tree intact for a while and I spoke to several officials from the Town to see if we could hatch a plan to relocate, what might make an excellent permanent Christmas tree, to a suitable place in town.

Please stay tuned as we try to save Muriel’s tree!

“ Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.”

Have a great week.

P.S. In the past 3 days I have had two significant senior’s moments…. one good and the other,  downright embarrassing. Got my first Old Age Security cheque on Thursday. No, that’s not the embarrassment! Yesterday morning I was scheduled to catch an early morning bus to the airport to pick up my car. Booked my “ senior’s” ticket a week ago. Didn’t check the ticket carefully.  Casually meandered up to the bus depot to kill a bit of time only to discover that the bus had left three minutes earlier. To add to my woes, I had an appointment booked in Bedford at 11:00. I seriously thought of hitchhiking for old times sake. Called my brother Mike to see if he would come and get me and chase the bus down in New Glasgow… the first stop. ( Pause for fanfare ). Guess where he was heading in 10 minutes time? To Halifax! I arrived at the airport before the bus. For my penance, I will go to the nearest blackboard and write 65 times, “ I will check my reservations carefully before going on a trip.”

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