Dear Readers, what a day yesterday was! You might remember that I was having the whitebeam and the hawthorn pruned (the last time it was done was about seven years ago, and they were both getting very overgrown for the size of the garden). Well, the tree surgeons arrived at about 8.30 and worked literally through thunderstorms and torrential rain. The chipper outside was going almost continually, and M, the guy that I’ve been working with for the past fifteen years, took on the hedge while someone younger went up the trees. Poor old M had a heart attack last year, so I suspect his days of shinning up trees like a squirrel are done, but he still wields a chain saw like an expert.
This morning all the collared doves and woodpigeons were sitting on the whitebeam as if nothing had happened. I had no idea of how many of them there were. The pollarding looks brutal, but past experience tells me that within a year the tree will have even more leaves than it had last time.
The squirrels are very fed up about the hawthorn, but fortunately there is still plenty of undergrowth and bushy stuff for them to rummage through.
And in the middle of all this, I managed to fall over on the landing. At least it was indoors! My fractured leg is a bit sore, and the ankle on the other side is complaining a bit, but it could have been much worse. I’m beginning to wonder if I have a condition called Chronic Ankle Instability – it happens when there have been a number of ‘sprained ankle’ incidents which stretch the ligaments and cause the ankle to just ‘give way’, which has certainly been my experience. Has anyone ever heard of it? I could really do with finding out what’s going on, it’s so traumatic, not least for my poor husband. I think his life flashes in front of his eyes every time he hears a thump.
Anyhow, this is the first time that I’ve been able to see the Virginia Creeper at the back of the garden from the kitchen. The whole space feels much lighter and more open, and when I talk to my prospective new garden help on Friday, I’ll see what we can do to really maximise the space for wildlife and for humans. I wince when I look at the trees (and at the squirrels and pigeons,) but it’s all for the best in the long run.
Ouch! For you and the trees. Sorry for both, yet the trees will recover as you say. I hated it when we had to get rid of cypress trees growing too close to our house – presenting a fire hazard during a long period of drought. It is amazing how much lighter and more open the garden is without them. I enjoy seeing the final view of your garden and look forward to noting the progress made there over time.
I know, it’s so painful to look at, but the pigeons seem surprisingly happy perched on the stumps.
What bad luck – having suffered a double fractured ankle, landings and stairs have become an area of uncertainty. I started walking barefoot as that seems more secure but having broken toes on both feet it really doesn’t answer the problem – what think you to a fireman’s pole?
The pruning a good job jobbed, perfect timing before the winter gloom, and a lovely opportunity for planning changes to the garden for the spring. Our too large lime tree had its periodic pruning a couple of months ago, the overlarge oak which was getting seriously out of control has been bonsaid, and we are thoroughly enjoying the results of both!
A fireman’s pole is a most excellent idea, with maybe a small domestic trebuchet to fire me upstairs…And yes, the garden is so much lighter now, the poor old whitebeam had become a little overbearing. And all the pigeons perched on top remind me of trips to Zambia, where every ‘dead’ tree has a vulture on it 🙂