Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Yardful of Memories

On July 1, I wrote about the day we moved into this house 28 years ago. I mentioned that I wanted to stay here long enough for my grandkids to climb the trees. This is a dream that has come true. There are many memories in our yard.

The spring after we moved in, we began landscaping with a vengeance. We had contracted with a nursery in town to create a plan for our yard, and we in turn would buy a percentage of the trees and bushes from them. We ended up buying almost everything from them, if I remember correctly. DC was very busy that spring with his job, so it fell upon me (a totally indoors kind of person), to plant the trees and bushes. I had two small children, but I would faithfully get out there every morning, dig 5-6 holes, and run to the nursery to pick up that many bare root bushes. It was an extremely wet spring that year and every time we'd prepare for a big project, the rain would come and make muck out of our dirt, also filling up any holes we had dug or trenches that had been prepared for the sprinkling system. I remember the day that we finally put in grass seed, trying to beat the coming rainstorm, thinking it would be great to have God give the pre-lawn its first good watering. Well, He sent a gully-washer, and every newly purchased seed ended up against the patio or around the newly-planted trees. We had a great crop of grass in totally inappropriate places! We tried again.

I described the adventure of planting of a very tall sapling in the previously linked post. Needless to say, it became my favorite tree in the yard. Here is a picture of it - a Marshall Seedless Ash.

trees and bushes 005


A few years later, DC's parents went back to Wisconsin to the old home place, in the woods up north. Unbelievably, they brought us home two trees for our growing yard. How those trees made the long trip without dying is a miracle in itself. One was a Blue Spruce, about 2 feet tall. It now stands at least 30 feet. What a great memory for my husband of his childhood at his grandma's place. The picture is on the left below. The other one they brought was a maple of some variety. It stands at the corner of the house and is pictured on the right below.


trees and bushes 002trees and bushes 006

Amazingly, the next spring, wild flowers and wild raspberries began to sprout around that maple tree - they had come out here from Wisconsin in the ball of dirt that surrounded the roots. They made it through that 1200 mile trip, through replanting, through winter, and came back to life in the spring. God puts amazing spunk into his plants! DC transplanted some, and especially the raspberries thrived. Feisty is standing in front of the raspberry patch, some of which are surviving wild ones. The rest are domestic. Are they delicious!! Feisty is also standing beside a fledgling apple tree. Another great story to follow.

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If you look very carefully, you will see, on Feisty's left, the apple tree. It's about 5 feet tall. Four years ago in July, Anakin was eating an apple. He was 4 at the time. After he finished, we had a great discussion on how apples come to be. He asked if we could plant the seeds from the middle of his apple. We threw them in the ground in the flower bed right beside the patio. Lo and behold, one week later, they both sprouted. They grew so much each summer that I finally talked DC into transplanting the stronger one so that it wouldn't get too big to move and destroy the flower bed. Anakin wonders when he will get to eat an apple from it - probably about the time he goes to college. The wonders of God's plan!

10 comments:

Kristen said...

Anakin and i were just talking the other day about his apple tree and the fact that by the time he is college he'll be able to come home on his breaks and eat his own apples. Amazing considering I remember planting apple seeds in the backyard when i was a kid and nothing ever came of them.

Feisty looks very cute standing there by her brother's apple tree. I didn't know you had moved it. I was going to ask you about that.

Barb said...

That's what's so wonderful about living in one place for all those years. Your whole yard looks lovely. I imagine those grandkids have a wonderful time out there. And that's a special story about the apple tree. Amazing that those two seeds actually turned into trees. How fun is that.

someone else said...

The trees are beautiful! That's funny - I just put together a post about some trees that I'm posting tomorrow. Same wave length?

Unknown said...

My daughter Zoe planted seeds from an apple with her grandpa a few years ago. She claims it is growing. I didn't have much hope for it and we have so many trees around, I really wouldn't know which one the apple tree is! Now I want her to show me where it is so I can see if it's really growing!

Linda said...

Dawn, I love your post. We've been in the same home for 23 years. I love it. I love all the trees that surround it - especially the cluster of oaks out front that must have been here long before the land was ever settled. Unfortunately, our country place is rapidly turning into a city place with huge commercial buildings springing up in the land that was once ranch land. So we have decided to sell. It kind of hurts my heart. I thought I would never move from this home. I've lived in this house longer than any other house in my lifetime. But life brings change (and I'm not really big on change), and so we will establish a new home in another place. I do love these trees though.

Pamela said...

Dawn, it is so nice to have so many wonderful memories in one place. I moved all of my life and I am most grateful to be able to boast living here for 15 years, before it was a couple of years here and a couple there. I love having roots. :)

I love the pics...very pretty!

rena said...

Hi Dawn,
I did get your comment on my selp help post and published it, but you're right, it's not there! So this AM when I saw it again on my moderate comment, I didn't publish, because thought I already had, and so that one is not there either. So sorry. I like your son's name for it though...deliverance!...better than recovery etc.

My email address is rnovotny@telus.net.

Have a great day.

kpjara said...

I can't believe the berries made the long trip and survived. How wonderful!

I love trees...they remind me of longevity and beauty with aging!

Mall Worker said...

Those tree's are just beautiful! I planted apple seeds, and popcorn seeds and nothing grew! Well, that wasn't much of a suprise on popcorn seeds!!

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Hi, Dawn. I love this post about your trees. I planted some trees about 14 years ago then had to move across the parking lot to an apartment that faces my old one. Soooooo...I can only gaze with longing on my beautiful trees while someone else reaps the benefits of what I literally sowed. I just haven't had the heart to plant any more because I fear having to leave them behind if we have to move again.
I totally agree with you about moving and that kind of major change. I really don't like either one.