The Tree and Lincoln.

12-21-15 SHORT HILLS: Franks Tree arrived early to take down the dying ash tree on the corner of the yard where three properties meet. They worked from the street below us because that location was closer to the tree. The tree was the biggest in the local area and probably parent to all the ash trees in our yard. It had been hit by lightning years ago. When we first moved here 40 plus years ago, the tree had a defect extending from the ground to twenty feet up the trunk, the edges of the gap had scorched bark.

Recently the tree was afflicted with a leafhopper borne disease which caused sections to go leafless, and storms in the last couple of years had broken off three of the five major divisions of the tree. The decision was made to take the rest of the tree down before it did more harm to the stuff beneath it. Some of the branches removed today were hollow. The tree is down to a twenty-foot high stump at the moment, and a tons of big pieces remain to be taken away.

In VT, we recently bought and stacked a half cord of wood for the fireplaces. This tree, now partly chipped, must have had twenty cords of wood, enough to keep a few VT neighbors warm for a whole winter, but in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Otherwise, we were at Lincoln School in Newark for Ms. Catalano’s second grade’s Xmas party. Judy, Maizie and I were there as well as Pam, Rona, and Jean with Charlie, Brynn, and Molly and newcomers Alison, Anna and Lily. The kids ate hot dogs, read for us, got presents, patted dogs, brushed dogs, made funny faces, fed dogs and signed autograph hounds for Ms. Catalano. One of the kids said it was the best day of his life.

Tonight we go to Brooklyn to pick up Maggie, and tomorrow we fly with her to France to meet Lucy, Val and Steve in Strasbourg for Xmas.


Tree comes down piece by piece.

Lincoln School with the usual and some new faces.