As of last Thursday, our front yard lost 80,000 pounds.
That was the day the tree company came and removed the big oak tree near our deck. When Steve and his family moved into the house in 1975, the tree was only 12 inches across. Pretty amazing!
There was sadness and nostalgia involved in the tree’s removal since it had blessed five generations of Smiths with its strong beauty and peaceful shade.
Standing tall . . .
and then gone.
The only reason we had the tree removed was that its roots were pushing into the foundation of the house; that means we will have to bring in another company to repair that problem. Also taking out the tree took out about a quarter of our deck. Since the deck is 35 years old with plenty of rotting wood, we are going to end up replacing that, too. The fun never ends.
Here is a short video from the day we said goodbye to the tree that has been part of all of our lives for so long. If you’re the kind of person who is fascinated by interesting machinery and amazing skills, you will especially enjoy this.
I’ll close this section with the closing stanza of a poem that my sister, Ruth, wrote years ago about another tree that was taken down. I have always loved her writing and this sums up our experience so well.
I’d like to take a moment . . .
to celebrate with our friends (and Meagan’s parents), Revs. Frank and Sheri Hawley.
Yesterday was their last Sunday as lead pastors of Garden Grove Church where they have faithfully served for almost two decades. The next season of their lives will involve doing short-term mission work in a variety of European countries, filling in for pastors and missionaries who need to return to the U.S. for various reasons. The new lead pastors at their church will be Meagan’s brother-in-law, John, and his wife, Joy who were voted in unanimously.
This is an excerpt from the church’s Facebook page today:
Today Pastor John and Joy Schreck were installed as Lead Pastors of Garden Grove Church. We honor the Legacy of Pastors Frank and Sheri Hawley and look forward to this new season that God has laid before us.
Such an exciting new season for the Hawleys and the Schreks.
Meagan flew out Thursday evening to be in Winter Haven for the reception for Frank and Sheri on Saturday night and the installation service on Sunday.
Nathan did a great job of being Mr. Dad in her absence. We invited him and the kids to over on Saturday afternoon; Steve and I took the kids back to the Whitewater Center and gave Nathan a chance to hang out at the house for a couple of child-free hours.
We found out when we arrived that it was Dog Day at the skating rink which basically meant they allowed dogs on the ice to see how they would enjoy “slip, slidin’ away.” It was very entertaining to watch both the dogs and their owners.
Steve and I are finding out that Andrew is a collector things, mostly sticks and rocks. Throughout the afternoon, Steve and I would feel a little hand sneak into our pockets as Andrew deposited yet another treasure trove of small pebbles.
He and I both loved this bent stick he found and I just had to get an artistic photo of it.
We did the scary bridge again and Grandma had to be assisted by the grands in order to make it over. (I didn’t, really, but it was sure fun to feel their small arms and hands supporting me.)
just when you thought it was safe to go into the kitchen again . . . the painting of the cabinets commences.
And the painting of the remaining two guestrooms, two bathrooms and the hallway.
Someday (hopefully) soon will stop being mid-renovation and move into the delightful season of being post-renovation. Can’t wait!
What about you?
Have you ever taken a dog on ice? What was their reaction?
What does this week hold for you? The beautiful ordinary or activities that are out of the realm of your routine?
Your projects are never ending. Been there. Done that. Ugh.
I bet it was hard to see that big beautiful tree go but I understand the necessity. We had lots of big, beautiful trees at our other house and we really miss them because we only have one small one here at our new home.
Looking forward to a trip to Nevada at the end of this week for my birthday. It’s my 65th! I made it! Ironically, the weather here is supposed to be as warm as or warmer than the weather where we’re going. Go figure. Lol
LeeAnne,
Happy 65th birthday and have a wonderful trip!
I’m like you–I love those big, beautiful trees. They are certainly one of God’s best gifts to the earth.
We have a beautiful maple tree in our front yard that was planted when we moved into our townhome 20 years ago. Unfortunately, it will be cut down this spring. The roots have uprooted our patio which is cement made and it is slowly dying. I have a winter picture of it that I took last year because we had had so much snow and it now my wallpaper on my phone.
The little sticks and stones – I always wondered, how long do I hang onto these – when will they ask me again, “do you still have my . . . ” We live quite a ways from our great-grandson (2 1/2) and so far have not had that asked of us.
Branson’s Silver Dollar City has a scary bridge like that so really have to hang on as young ones find it amusing to run on it – grandma/woman/wife is not amused!!!! Well, yes, the painting and rearrangement of furniture, etc. Keep telling yourself – this too shall pass!!! And keep in mind what it will look like when all done.
I have a huge live oak in my backyard, WAY too close to the house, it was just a twig in a bucket when I bought it and planted it about 25 years ago. It shades my screen porch and I love it. I know that one day I’m going to have to deal with having it removed because it’s so close to the house. I had it trimmed back a couple months ago and the tree service guy said it would probably be a long, long time before it started giving me problems with the foundation, I hope he’s right. Still gonna cry when it has to come down though!
Melissa,
Just a twig in a bucket. Is it not SO amazing how fast those twigs grow? And yes, it is very sad when the grown-up twigs have to be gotten rid of. I’m glad your tree service guy said that day is far in your future!
Back when I lived in Sonoma a very large tall tree had to be removed as it was dying. While I was sad it had to go it was amazingly to watch it being taken down. I ended up with three new trees along the fence line. There were many other trees at the end of the property line as well for the birds and small wild animals. Haven’t thought of that in a long time.
Cindy,
It truly is amazing to watch those trees get taken down; I’m definitely glad it is not my job.
I love that you had smaller trees for the birds and and small, wild animals. Such a nice mental picture.
When I moved to my current home here in Saint Cloud there was a mostly dead tree in the front yard I did not want cut down. It is the perfect spot to hang bird feeders and dangling decorations. Luckily my landlord agreed to leave it there since it is pretty far away from the house.
Cindy,
Birds and dangling decorations. Perfect uses for a tree! 🙂
I really enjoyed the video of the your tree coming down (so sorry you’re going to have to have foundation work done, though – there’s a lot of that here in Texas because of the soil). I would like to paint our kitchen cabinets, but it seems like such a daunting task…so no cabinet painting scheduled in my near future.
How exciting for both Meagan’s sister/brother-in-law and her parents! I’m glad she was able to be there for them. I hope ALL the Smith clan has a wonderful week!
Sue Ellen,
Well, Steve contemplated doing our own cabinets but there was so much more painting to do beside those, he just brought somebody in; the guy who has done all our other work. Nice to stay with the same small business owner.
I know–wasn’t that video so fun to watch? Steve stayed outside 6 hours to watch and was just mesmerized.
Love that picture of Andrew. He is a mini Nathan.
Your description of losing your tree reminds me a little of my day yesterday. My dad, 97 years old and married for 4 months shy of 75 years, took his last breath around 5:15 yesterday afternoon. He had been in hospital for a week with RSV. He made it back to nursing home but just didn’t bounce back. He wasn’t that tall, just 5’5” but had been in my life for 68 years. He was a man of strong faith so knew where he was going. So this week I will be finalizing funeral plans and going to his funeral.
Phyllis,
Four months shy of 75 years. Wow! A short man but a giant in your life. Such a loss to you and your family.
Many hugs.
Ruth’s poem is profound!
Steve,
Yes, she is QUITE the writer.
I love the picture of Andrew with his blue eyes matching his sweater and his sweet little face framed by the branch. Looks like grandparents and grands had a grand old time! 🙂 And it was so nice of you guys to give Nathan some quiet time at the house. I know that was a rare gift for him.
I’m so glad Meagan was able to go celebrate these milestone days with her family. Garden Grove has been and will continue to be led by and cared for by excellent pastors.
I know saying good bye to that dear old tree was hard. Seeing how they take down a big tree like that was fascinating, but also sad. I loved Ruth’s writing.
You must be feeling like you’ve been put on the merry-go-round of house renovations and can’t get off! It’s amazing how hard you guys have worked and how much you have accomplished. You will have a simply lovely home. But enough already! Here’s to the projects Finally Being Done!
Love to you all,
Deb
Deb,
Enough already is right! Once my house gets put back together in the next week or so, I will just sit and bask in seeing order all around me. (Except of course for the closets and cupboards; but we we won’t go there.)
Yes, I was glad Meagan got to be there with her family for such a momentous weekend.
And I love Ruth’s writing, too. Wish we could find a way to get her publishes. Her work deserves it!
Becky, Thank you for the Hawley update. I’ve been thinking/wondering what happened, Sheri hasn’t updated her blog for a long time. Karen
Karen,
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed Sherri’s blog over the years and all of her wonderful writing are available to go back and re-read.
She has been working on a book for some time and decided to channel her writing time toward that instead of the blog. She has so much to say and such a great way of saying it.