I just had to post something to push that hideous prankster picture further down the page.

Push.

Push.

Push.

Push.

We planted a new tree in the yard last night, a honeylocust something-or-other. Very small leaves, like carney-folk hands — they cluster in a way that makes you think that a cluster is actually one large leaf (at least from a distance). It now stands in the front lawn, midway between the house and the sidewalk, where in a few years it should look like others of it’s type that you can spot around the neighborhood if you’re looking (which we suddenly were a few days ago).

I sat down in my office to pull on my shoes this morning and glanced outside. There was a tree there. It was shocking. I think I’m really going to like it. In ten years, between the new apple, maple, and honeylocust, our house will be nicely shaded in the afternoon.

After the tree planting, I patched up some of the dog-damage and shoddy first-work down near the end of one of the paths (we were very tired by the time we made it down to that section and running out of materials — corners were cut and we’re paying for that now), sprayed some dog-weed, and hacked about 3 square feet out of the juniper bush. I know we won’t get a damn thing done on anything this weekend (we’re going to be too busy), but sometime very soon that bush will be half it’s original size.

Then it’s going to die.

You should like the locust - you may have some cleanup with the seedpods, but the leaves in fall drop and disappear. No raking...

But wait! Does the juniper have a nice twisty trunk?

Nah, it's one of those ground-hugging bushes that grows no higher than a half-foot off the ground and spreads constantly.

The worst part is that it harbors a vine/weed I only know to refer to as Creepin' Jenny -- no idea what the real name is. Since it's nearly impossible to root it out of that are, the creepin' jenny does what it does best: spreads out over the nearby lawn and landscaping, wrapping around any plant over 4 inches high like a boa constrictor.

So: it's ugly, and harbors a spreading weed.

So you're sure there's no bonsai potential there? Could I beg a picture of it from you? We'd pay for shipping if it were worth it...

Isn't it the wrong time of year to be planting trees?

Hey, Seki, I have a bunch of dead juniper stumps in the side yard I could ship you, if that would be of help ...

It's not a great time of year to plant, but in Colorado it doesn't matter as much, and in a drought it doesn't matter much at all (in that you're screwed year round).

Transfering established stuff should wait, but since it's already in a pail to begin with, etc. etc.

Luckily, the season for ripping out ugly-ass junipers is year round in the Bear's Cave. Boo-yah. (I'll post a picture of the stump trunk this evening for Seki.

Dave, dead doesn't help much. The trick is to "grow" the trees in pots. :)

Ahem.

You plan on living there for another 10 years to enjoy the shade?