October Road
So here we are, in the middle of October. It feels like the middle of February out there. Been freezing inside and out since last Thursday, even got out the down coat and fleece boots! No oil in the tank, so no heat at home. Waiting for delivery. Can’t wait for it to warm up! (the temp outside is just approaching 50! Hooray!)
Fall is my favorite season, mainly because my birthday ushers in the season as the first official full day of autumn. I love watching the spectacular nature show we are fortunate enough to see in this part of the world. Except that I miss my beautiful old maple tree that fell last winter during a storm.
I miss looking out my bedroom window to be greeted each morning by a blaze of orange, red and yellow.
So instead, I enjoy the trees on the block, but it’s not the same. I really feel our tree gave us so much, just like Shel Silverstein described in The Giving Tree. Our tree gave us shade in the summer and cooled off the house. It gave us privacy. It gave us our favorite first day of school picture spot. And it gave us that beautiful technicolor show every fall. (I have to admit that the one thing I don’t miss is the endless supply of leaves to rake…)
It was just about a year ago, on a stormy, blustery Saturday afternoon. While dozing on the living room couch I suddenly woke with a start. I heard a noise that sounded like a bookshelf crashing.
I called upstairs, saying WHAT WAS THAT? After a minute, my husband said look outside.
To my horror I saw our tree, split vertically down its middle, with the largest portion resting on the house. It didn’t exactly come crashing down. It fell as gently as a tree could. So for that I am very grateful. There was some slight roof and gutter damage. But it could have been much worse. We were pretty lucky. No downed wires, nobody hurt.
Cutting down a tree is not only terribly expensive, it’s a very emotional experience. I couldn’t bear hearing those tree cutting saws, the grinding machine. It was almost evil.
My house now looks totally naked without it’s mighty tree in front. All that’s left is a stump.
So as we enjoy our first fall without our tree, I realize just how much I do miss it.
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- The Fall has Fallen
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- Last tree standing…
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- In Living Color, against a beaufiul blue October sky
