Earlier this week, the arborists reduced the blue Spruce tree in my front yard, from this:
Now, this is it:
But in some fashion, the Blue Spruce lives on. I spread its 3000 lbs. of sequestered carbon onto the garden to suppress weeds and add nutrients.
They did not grind up the Blue Spruce stump, it sits near an underground electrical line.
I kept looking at the stump’s grain. I had to sand it down. Sand a wet, living stump? Not recommended. I could not resist.
My sanding revealed the independent growth of each trunk, and soon you could count the rings on this 40-year-old tree. The north trunk seemed diseased at about age 10; you can see the misplaced, brown cambium that grew around the lower (north) trunk three decades ago.
I switched to a finer grit and was working on this stump at sundown today. By tomorrow it will be smoother than a baby’s … nevermind.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
What have you noted in your area or travels? As usual, please post your observations and general location in your comments. I’ll respond in between working on an endless list of garden chores, including sanding that stump to a jewelry-level sheen.
"Spotlight on Green News & Views" will be posted every Saturday at 5pm Pacific Time and every Wednesday at 3:30 Pacific Time on the Daily Kos front page. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.