Tuesday, August 16, 2022

A Death In The Neighborhood


Well, shit. 

I saw yesterday that one of my neighbors had a tree crew over at her place and I assumed they were cutting limbs again. That oak, that majestic, ancient live oak, has been bad recently about dropping limbs on the power line which cuts out everyone's service and also, dropping limbs on the road. I don't know if any cars have actually been hit but the possibility is not to be ignored. When I took my walk this morning, a few workers were back and everything had been cleaned up and the tree looked like that. 
The former tree, I suppose I should say. 
I asked one of the guys if they were going to take out the trunk, too, but he said that they didn't have anything adequate to do that sort of cutting and removal. That's how immense that tree is. 
I also asked him if the tree had been dying. He hemmed and hawed a little and said that it was becoming a danger due to its age and told me what I already knew about the limbs. 
And then I said what I said at the beginning of this post. 
"Well, shit."

I have not talked to my neighbor who lives there about the removal and I seriously doubt she took the decision to have the tree removed lightly. For one thing- a job like that costs more than you can imagine. Not only that, she grew up in Lloyd. Part of her childhood was spent in the house I live in. Her mother and father were also raised here. I have no doubt that she loves the trees and honors them as much as anyone could. I feel certain that her heart hurts, as does mine. 

Sigh. 

In more cheerful news, the beauty berry is ripening. 



I am so glad that I made all that beauty berry jelly a few years ago because now I no longer have to look at these gorgeous fuchsia berries and wonder what a jam of them would taste like. I knew it was possible to make it- I'd read articles. So I made a bunch of it two or three years ago? And the color is amazing. And it's sweet because of all the sugar you have to use in it and the flavor that the berries give it is...well, subtle, to say the least. It's pretty on a biscuit but not very interesting. I keep thinking that a real chef could create some sort of roasted venison dish with it and port and wild onions or something but I haven't attempted that. Not sure I'd know where to start. 
So now I know what beauty berry jam tastes like and I feel no urge to make it again. In fact, I have at least half a dozen jars of it that I just need to dump. They're taking up space and not getting any better with age. 
Bottom line- I can now enjoy the beauty berries for their shiny color alone and let the birds eat all they want. 

We are eating from the earth, the sea, and the garden tonight. I am making a gumbo that has in it, among all the other gumbo things, venison sausage, left-over snapper and mullet, and okra from the garden. I went out to pick okra after a downpour we had this afternoon and took a few pictures. 



I like this one. It shows the closed blossom with raindrops still on it, a mature pod, and one of the darling green baby penis pods. 
Sort of. You can see what I mean. 
It's a rather phallic vegetable, all in all. Or is that just me? I do love the contrast of the feminine blossom with the green spear of the pod that grows so very quickly from nubbin to mature and sturdy vegetable. 

 The best thing that happened today is that I got to talk to my oldest still-friend in the world. My best friend from about the sixth grade. Lord, we went through a lot together and it is such a joy and a comfort to still have each other to talk to about the things that affect us now. It is her birthday and so I called her and we spoke of grown children and grandchildren, husbands, baked goods, and high school reunions. It is our fiftieth this year and neither of us is going but we reminisced and talked about the very few people we would be interested in seeing. I feel so grateful to have her in my life after all of this time. She is someone who knows me to the bone and back. And on top of all of that, she is a marvelous person. I love her dearly. 

As you can tell, life is moving on as usual here in Lloyd in August. I am tired this evening. My walk took it out of me. The fox continues to pick off our chickens. The bread is out of the oven and looks incredibly weird but it will be good with the gumbo. 

Here's a picture of Maurice I took in bed last night. 


She finally got up the courage to get there before Jack, but left before we fell asleep and he came in and replaced her. 
She wants love just as we all do. She is so scared of asking for it and even more terrified of accepting it when it is offered. 

I understand. 

Love...Ms. Moon









36 comments:

  1. That tree is begging to be sculpted. Roughed out with a chain saw then refined with chisels into a family of figures. I am still so jealous of your okra.

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    1. They did that to a huge tree they took down at the Tallahassee main library and it turned out to look hideous. No matter what happens to that tree now it just makes me sad.

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  2. losing an ancient oak is sad. We have many here on the property where we live (rent).........one, probably about 150 years old and majestic.......started dying about a year ago...and has been dropping limbs on its own, willy nilly, where it looks much like your *trimmed* tree pic. Sad....... they are like old friends. SO sorry to hear Mr Fox is continuing to pick off your hens.....damned that critter. Perhaps baiting that trap with something alive might be the way to go? but who knows.....and I certainly wouldn't sacrifice another hen.......I don't know anything about trapping foxes but I'm sure someone does.
    Enjoy your delicious gumbo!
    Susan M

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    1. Yeah. That tree must be at least three hundred years old. I guess it was just too much of a liability.
      There is a way to use a live chicken as bait in the trap where the chicken won't get harmed but damn- that seems like it would traumatize the chicken for life.

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  3. Oh, that dear cat. I'm glad he's with someone who gets him.

    Those berries look like plastic toys to me. A ball pit for a dollhouse.

    Sad about the tree, yes. I can't think why they don't cut it nearer the ground though. A stump you can sit on would be good.

    Our landscapers cut big trees down to a stump with the same tools they felled it with. Then the grinder is needed.

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    1. Yes. I feel sorry for Maurice too although not so much when she grabs and bites. She is serious about it.
      You can't really imagine how big around that tree is, I think. Perhaps someone can finish it up but that crew looked pretty darn professional and they had about twenty guys working with lots of equipment so I don't know what the deal is.

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  4. The death of a tree is a reason to mourn. I'm not saying the power companies are presumptive but i do think they look at trees as potential problems in the future. And who among us would welcome the loss of electricity? Not me, as Mary Moon would say.

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    1. Not me either although we have the generator now and don't worry so much about it. I don't think the power company made her take the tree out. I know she's tried getting branches trimmed and obviously, that wasn't working.

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  5. It's always sad to see a tree go although I wish they would take a few around here. Gums are notorious for looking healthy but rotting inside so when the winds pick up they fall over or drop large branches. Onto cars and buildings and sometimes even people. Whoever thought of planting gums in suburbia was an idiot. Maurice is a very pretty cat. She deserves all the love she can get.

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    1. Gum trees are insidious. I agree with you.
      Maurice would be a lot prettier if she didn't get into fights and get her nose torn up over and over again. She's really sort of wild.

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  6. I too mourn the death of a tree, especially such a venerable one. Leaving the trunk standing may be a boon for the woodpeckers and hole-nesting wildlife, down the road.

    Sympathies on the continued depredations of the fox. I do hope it's concentrating on the overabundance of roosters, if it must harry your flock.

    I am so impressed that you have such a childhood friend. Well done, to keep that friendship going over lo, these many years.

    Thank you for the first-hand report on beautyberry jam. I'm sure the birds enjoy the flavor, leaving the visuals to our eyes.

    Chris from Boise.

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    1. Your words about the woodpeckers made me feel a little better. I not only feel sorry for the tree but also for the entire eco-system that its branches supported. Gone now.
      I do not know what we're going to do with the damn fox. This is getting ridiculous.
      I know I'm lucky to have a friend like the one I have. I think we just really like each other. Always have.
      Yes. Best to let the birds have the beauty berries.

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  7. Damn, I hate that- the tree thing just undoes me and I feel stabbed in the heart. By the way, do not ever let anyone fool with
    Dorothy , I have had dolls "repaired" just to preserve them and they came back looking like whores with baby bodies. Wrong I tell ya!! Dorothy
    Anne is all charm and history - I love her.

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    1. Trying to get Dorothy Anne restored would be like me getting all the plastic surgeries and fillers on offer. I would still be me.
      And I love her the way she is.

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  8. First thing that popped into my head when I saw that okra pic was "that looks like a little penis"

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  9. Poor cat, and I'm sorry for all the things that make you understand that.

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  10. Well, shit for sure. A lot of trees have come down in my little woods and I can tell you exactly what our three guys would do to take down that "stump". And I agree with Linda Sue--keep Dorothy close to home. Remember 'I love you' over her heart. No one would know enough to save that.

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    1. And wouldn't that be the saddest thing? To have that "I love you" removed? No. Not on my watch.

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  11. I know how sad it is to see a majestic oak like that go. I would mourn it. But if it makes you feel any better, it's possible for large falling limbs to really hurt someone. My great uncle Buster died in his car (driving down the street) when a massive oak branch fell. It crushed the roof of his car and broke his neck. What rotten timing to be driving under the tree at that moment!

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    1. And we do not realize exactly how big those branches are. They are much larger than most trees! I am so sorry that happened to your uncle. What a horrible way to die!

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  12. Maurice wanting love and being afraid to accept it reminds me of my Lola when I first brought her home from the shelter. It took us two and a half years to get used to each other. I'm sorry the fox is still getting your chickens.
    I think the oak trunk looks interesting left like that and if it doesn't get removed it may grow new branches still.

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    1. We've had Maurice for probably about eight years so I think this is as good as it's going to get. I guess some childhoods were just too much to ever really get over.
      You know, I was wondering if the tree would try to grow new branches.

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  13. Sad to see the tree cut down, but it must have had big branches that would have been killers if they fell on someone! We have got 2 little beauty berry bushes ( Callicarpa) . They are not quite going purple yet, and I am watering them in hope that they don't die in our drought. Never knew they were edible.

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    1. HUGE branches. For sure.
      I don't think that beauty berries worry overmuch about little rain fall. But I don't really know. They're edible in that they won't kill you but they're not really very tasty. But they sure do make a pretty jam.

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  14. You are right about the high cost of professional tree felling services. Back in March we paid $670 to have our thirty five year old horse chestnut tree felled and you know I still feel rather guilty about it. I have saved some big logs which I hope to turn into chopping boards and a fruit bowl when the wood is properly seasoned.

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    1. I understand that guilt. Glen has had the wood from the cherry laurel we had cut down milled into planks and it is seasoning now too. There's a lot of it.
      As to cost- a tree like the one of my neighbor's probably cost at least ten times more than what your horse chestnut cost to cut. It's insane. But the equipment they have to use is terribly expensive and the wages for professionals must be high. It's a high-risk job and one that requires much training. I admire those who do it well.

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  15. That last sentence is so true and so heartbreaking.

    We're having to dead trees cut down next month at a price of $1000. It's either cut them down or they'll come crashing down one day in a storm. It's always sad to see a tree cut down or die.

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    1. It is sad but sometimes it simply must be down.
      I know you understand what I meant about Maurice.

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  16. That's velvet okra right? My favorite kind. I had grown the clemson spineless and one year I got some velvet seeds. I expected it to grow like the clemson. Ha! It became a huge shrub as tall as me with a thick trunk.

    I dug up my beautyberry when we moved. I had already moved it once before and it did fine but this time it has barely survived but it has given me two volunteers that are doing very well.

    We have a giant oak growing 20' (?) from the house, it's branches reaching over the roof. If that thing goes over and lands on the house in a hurricane, the house will be toast. We need to get a tree guy out and do some magic.

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    1. I really don't remember what sort of okra we planted. But it is doing well and makes lovely pods.
      As far as I know, beauty berry dies and comes back every year. I've never really paid attention but I know that after the berries fade, the bushes really look sad.
      Oh Lord. Yes. It sounds like you need to get that tree down for sure. I'm sorry.

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  17. I always hate to see a tree killed, but sometimes it becomes necessary, I suppose. We used to have a live oak growing right next to our front porch in Tampa -- it grew up by itself from an acorn, and we let it go for YEARS. But when we sold the house the new owners had it taken out, and I can totally see why. It would have eventually uprooted the foundation. But it was a good tree while it lasted.

    How many chickens have you lost? And who? Or would you rather not talk about it?

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    1. Yeah. Trees need to be planted in the right places for sure. We've got some water oaks out front that truly need to come out.
      I will discuss the chicken situation in today's post.

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  18. That tree had a good long life. Too bad they couldn't completely remove it so they could plant a new tree there.

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