This summers drought took it's toil on some trees in the yard. One
of the trees was a 15 foot pine (Australian?). As soon as it turned
even a hint of brown we watered under it and soaked it good this
summer. It wasn't shaped well but we did want to keep it.
We have had about 4" of rain in the last couple of days. The ponds
on our place are full again and the wheat fields are soaking it up. We
figured if we could get to it with a tractor without tearing up the
yard we would try to pull it out. Just so happens the tree was close
to the driveway so with a long log chain they hooked the bottom of the
trunk to the tractor. Took a running tug with that big old 4 wheel
drive and it didn't budge! Tried a few more times and still no luck.
Stopped and moved the chain a foot or two up the tree trunk. Third tug
and it came right out. Pulled up the roots a little more and backed
off. Just as soon as everything was clear all 5 dogs jumped into the
bare spot looking for critters. Something about fresh dirt they just
love. I guess it is all the new smells they like.
No wonder the tree didn't make it. It had some pretty good tap
roots it's just the feeder roots going out to the side and underneath
the tree were SOOooo shallow! The heat we had here was so bad I would
bet those roots were only 6" deep and just roasted this summer. I just
don't think there would have been any way to keep those roots cool
enough, the ground was just to hot even when it was shaded.
All the dirt that was on the root was considerable so to make the
stump easier to handle after they cut it up I knocked off all the dirt
I could. We put the dirt back into the hole it made with a shovel. As
my son was taking his turn shoveling he jumped back. Turned out there
was a baby snake about 8" long in the shovel full of dirt he had.
Hubby told the dogs to sic it and they jumped on it and gave that
little copperhead a good chewing. Luke grabbed it by the head and
chewed it like a flee. Cool to see how they do that. It quit moving
and looked like some 2 year old tried to tie a bow. I went to check on
it and it was still moving. Hubby was looking around the dirt under
where the tree had been for some more snakes in a nest but didn't see
any. Petey had claimed the snake, he laid down beside it and watched
all the other dogs walk by it. Petey made sure to tell them with a low
growl that the snake was his new toy. It was funny he would growl real
low then SMILE like a bandit. I took the snake away with the rake and
when it fell off and wiggled Luke grabbed it again and chewed some
more. By this time Luke's jaws were just popping and Petey mouth was
drooling over the snake. Petey had slime all the way to the ground
coming out of the edge of his mouth. Silly dog.
We teased Jon about jumping so big when he saw the snake. He said,
"Let's see what you do when you get a snake that close to your paw!"
Something about outdoor work seems like we always have a adventure
with it.
We finished filling the hole and put the excess limbs on it to
burn the mess up. Got down to just a little flame and checked the
snake again. Dang thing was still moving! So this time we got the rake
and took it to the fire. Petey followed and watched the whole way. We
threw it on the fire and Petey just kept watching and whining because
we took HIS toy away.
We had forgotten about the little knee high tree in the back yard
and told Jon to just go and break it off or pull it out. He went back
into he yard and came back empty handed. He said he had to get the
HOSS. In other words the BIG chain saw for a little thing that wasn't
even a inch around! Most of the dirt was off the stump so they pulled
it into a ditch down south of the barn to rot. The limbs that were big
enough were cut up and will be used for firewood this winter.
The spot sure does look empty where the tree was but hubby wants me
to find some cactus that will look good there and dress it with some
white rocks. There are some big plants along the road we can dig up I
think are a type of aloe. The kind with long spiked slender leaves
that has a 3 - 4 foot spiked bloom in the summer, that looks like
cotton balls for blooms. It will work out.
Next job, no till some wheat.
bsk
