(I felt like blogging something different this time.)

About two weeks ago, I had to have the wild cherry tree that I’d planted over 20 years before cut down.  It had gotten overrun by black knot fungus to the point the branches were breaking off all over it (I blame it being 2020).

I’ll miss the countless hours of entertainment that tree provided as I watched squirrels and birds flopping on the lawn drunk every July from the cherries that would ferment on the branches 🍒🍹.  

Time to plant a new tree.

Determined to get something as resistant as possible to everything and anything this time, I researched what species would be hardiest, relatively quick growing, and provide the shade I wanted.  I decided upon a Japanese Lilac.  

Now, had this been a November of my childhood, there’d have been no way I could have dug a hole to plant the tree.  The ground would have been frozen with at least 10 cm of snow on it already.  But climate change has pretty much done away with the winters of my youth.  I had a sunny afternoon on an unnaturally 20C day to dig into green grass and soft soil.

Et voilà!

Big deal. Well, yes, for me it is, lol.  I have a black thumb when it comes to anything garden-related.  I realize I have to wait till spring to see if this new tree takes root but I’m an optimist at heart (or a dreamer, take your pick).  

And the fairy?  This is the little fairy that had sat in the cherry tree for years.

Many a drunken squirrel and bird stumbled onto her branch to flirt with her back in the day, let me tell you. 

The rescue part came when I went to take her off her branch before they came to cut the cherry tree down. She’d been there so many years that the wood had grown over her base! I ended up frantically chiselling her off with a pocket knife just before the cutter arrived.  

The fairy will be spending winter indoors this year since her wings are rusted through (I know how she feels). The wings need to be cleaned up and reset.  Come spring, she’ll hopefully be looking all shiny and new and ready to grace a new perch in the Japanese lilac where she can lend an ear to any critters who may drop by again. 

For fun, I looked up how to say lilac in Japanese.  It’s pronounced “rye-rak-ku”. Having lived in Japan for a year, this shouldn’t have surprised me.  I’m going to stick with “Raku” for short.  

So in a sense, happy birthday to Raku.  I wish I could fast-forward its growth by 5 years but oh well.  As for the squirrels and birds looking for a tipple in July, maybe some kind of mini-bar on my front porch next summer will do?  Lol.

Anyone have a tree story to share?