A Real Earth Day Pushover,...or He-Man Comes to Clearwater

What did we do to celebrate Earth Day?   Well, we were working out in the yard, walking around, deciding what to plant where, when I pushed on the big dead cottonwood that had given up and finally died over the winter.  (It was one of those pseudo-cottonwoods, the "cottonless" kind you buy all too often at box stores and even nurseries.)  It seemed like there was a little give in the trunk, so Greg and I started discussing whether he would take it down or if we should  call a tree trimming company to do it.

The trunk was big enough that Greg wasn't sure he could cut through it with his chainsaw, so we were leaning towards calling the professionals in. 

Just for kicks and giggles, thinking of how much the tree had swayed when I pushed on it, we decided to give it a serious push, together.  It definitely moved.

Another push or two, and we started hearing roots cracking underground.  The soil surface heaved a little.  Maybe it was our imagination, but the tree seemed to be leaning just a bit.

Quick, the camera!  Just in case we were successful, we wanted a record "on film"!  (Yeah, I'm that old - and older!)

So, here's the (almost still upright) dead cottonwood, with Greg, the soon-to-be Cottonwood Conqueror standing beside it.

Now....PUSH!

PUSH!  PUSH!  PUSH!

PUSH HARDER!!!

And down she goes!

He-Man, the Cottonwood Conqueror, is triumphant!!!  All with one person power, the lurking symbol of loss is removed from the front yard!!!

The clean-up did, unfortunately, require the use of some stored hydrocarbons, but the Cottonwood Conqueror came through and completed the job.  Then, the loss of one tree, the beginning of a new life for that area of the yard and garden....  But that's a story for the next post!