Monday, May 20, 2013

The place bustled today. Habitat for Humanity carried off anything they thought they could use: the kitchen cabinets, light fixtures, even the front door. The West High teachers dug up whatever they could find along Highland Ave. Clyde moved the trees to the southeast back corner, where they are now loosely packed into the soil. How will I keep them alive through the summer...?

This evening, after everyone had gone, Lena and I spent an hour with the big trees. An enormous, stately maple on Kendall, right where the front door will be. A pear tree that was apparently billed as a dwarf when planted and will not be missed by Bob and Mary, over whose driveway it arches and drops pear bombs from a height of 30 feet . A straight and tall spruce that must be home to a bird family or two. Another conifer, less massive but more lovely, on Kendall. And an apple tree that’s perfect for a treehouse and is in full bloom now, poised to produce another round of fruit in the fall. Tonight we had to say goodbye.