A Tree Grows in Bradenton -

Looking back.   This is a photo I posted in a previous blog post.  It is a picture of  one of our young oak trees and in the photo above, it had been recently planted.  We had almost lost this little oak because the crew that planted it had left a large hole by it's root ball.  Without soil packed around it, the root system began to dry out and the tree leaves started to turn brown and die. Fortunately we discovered the cavernous hole, filled it in with soil and watered the tree well for several weeks.

 

Photo below was also in an older blog post of mine, showing how much the same little tree had grown. 

Photos below are again of the same little oak tree, taken just a few days ago.  It has grown several feet taller and much more around.  It even had its first bird nest this year - a nest of mocking birds.  John is not at all happy with them as momma mocking bird sings lullabies to her babies at 2 or 3 in the morning.

Photo below is of the same tree, only this time it is from the house looking  back at the backyard rather than from the backyard looking towards the house.

Photo below is of a baby oak tree planted about a year ago.  It was one that grew from an acorn that a squirrel had buried in one of our flower beds.  John pulled it up and it came out with a nice long tap root so we planted it at the far back of  our yard.  It may not look very big but it is now about 6 feet tall.  Guess I should have gotten John to stand beside it when I took its picture.  Yeah, like that's going to happen, John does not like my taking pictures of him for my blog.  Come to think of it I don't really relish having my picture taken either.  Perhaps if I were more photogenic. :)

 

What a Difference a Couple of Years Make

Newly planted oak tree - Photo taken about 2 years ago

This past winter has been a mild one, fortunately, and our yard didn't suffered the consequences of freeze or frost damage like it did the winter of 2010.  So this Spring  everything plant in our yard has had an abundant flush of growth.

Over two years ago we planted 3 little oak trees, with hopes of someday enjoying their shade.  Of the three, the one photographed above almost died on us.  Poor little pathetic thing had turned brown and looked on the verge of dieing. I assumed it probably needed more water so drug the hose out to it and began soaking it . . . that's when I noticed the water was cascading rapidly down a hole and out of sight.  Seems the crew that planted the oak had left a huge, unfilled hole at the base of its roots.    Using a broomstick handle and the garden hose I tried to compact soil into the void and kept my fingers crossed that what I did would save the tree.

The photos below were taken just a few days ago. It is now much larger and fuller than the two other little oak trees and someday it will provide us with ample shade . . . looking forward to that when the temperatures hit a 100 !!!







Lost Causes part III

above photo...One of the 3 young oaks that we bought and planted this summer. This one sits near the front of our house.

For 2 years I’ve longed to plant a few substantial shade trees, but at $200 apiece they would have to wait. Turned out fortuitous as the distressed real estate market had a cascade affect that effected such businesses as plant growers, nurseries and tree farms. Our $200 apiece oak trees ended up costing us only $70 each. Naturally, had they been planted 2 years ago they would have been established by now and we would be seeing signs of new growth, but a savings of almost $400 helps to ease the disappointment. It will be at least another year or two before these young oaks will start branching out.

LOST CAUSES part III...

I suppose I should mention that Brad had a business partner, I’ll not use her real name so let’s just call her BP (Business Partner as opposed to British Petroleum) for the sake of clarity. In the overall scheme of things, BP turned out to be more a bane than a blessing. She knew the home construction business quite well as her husband was a builder/developer, she had helped him run his enterprise and that enterprise was now thriving, of course that was back in the day of the real estate feeding frenzy.

Fate can be fickle and unpredictable, by chance BP met and feel in love with another man and decided to divorce her husband for a shot at "happiness". Seems her first mate was a workaholic and the family always came after the business. Grounds for divorce ? Perhaps !
BP’s new love was witty, humorous, a dreamer and a talker of such charm I'm sure he kissed the Blarney Stone, not once but many times. Can’t say as I ever knew what this new love of loves did per say, had something to do with music or films but it didn’t bring home the bacon. BP realized she needed to find employment in order to pay the bills, so after the divorce she talked to Brad about starting up a construction business together.
From what I could glean she was suppose to take care of the financial end, do all the paper work and tend the annoying legalities, pull permits etc., thus leaving Brad to do the actual construction and job of site supervisor. Unfortunately it didn’t pan out that way, Brad found himself juggling too many jobs and holding too much responsibility while his partner was quite often away enjoying time with her family.
Guess I mentioned that Brad didn’t have a knack for picking out reliable, responsible, dependable people? Perhaps he was just too soft hearted or headed, or maybe he just lacked that special common sense essential in business that allows one to differentiate an honest hard worker from a talk a lot, but get nothing done slacker? Whichever the case it cost him dearly.
At the onset of their partnership BP’s ex got the impression that BP was bringing his floor plans and home designs to Brad and that they were capitalizing on what was legally his copyright. BP on the other hand felt many of these designs had been her brainchild and she had right to such. Naturally this resulted in a lawsuit and all the headaches that go with it; attorney fees, and lost time on the job site in order to attend attorney conferences and make court appearances.
All this just added stress that Brad didn’t need. As things began to stack up, and construction deadlines were not being met the business started to crumble. BP could sense the ship was sinking and decided it was an opportune time to bow out of the picture, taking a job with another builder and leaving Brad with the whole can of worms...conclusion to be continued

above photo...2nd little oak at side of home

Photo below...3rd small oak at the back of our house. It will be a while before these young oaks provide us with shade.