Violent wind/thunder storms came through Tama and surrounding counties early Monday morning while we were sleeping. Winds were so strong we could feel the house shake. We are still without power and water and are sad to report that we lost about 15 trees. Trees we planted ourselves in ’07 and ’08, many of which were showing such potential.  Those who have visited know that our house and gardens are located in a mostly treeless area, except for the large Ash tree next to the house. On a side note, we recently learned that this tree was given as a gift to Emil Seidel (former owner of our house) by one of his daughters. We are very happy this tree was not harmed as it provides wonderful shade.
The loss of so many young trees is a big one, both for the shade they were on their way to making and because I now love trees so much, perhaps even more than flowers. I have recently come to the conclusion that watching a tree grow over a 4 year span is more rewarding than watching what a perennial does in that time.
Pictured are but a few of our losses.

Jonathan Apple. Not going to overdramatize this loss. This tree was already weakened by borers and scab. All future apple trees will have good disease resistance.

We classify this one as our biggest loss. This young redbud was full and beautifully shaped. And used daily by birds.

Second biggest loss- the other beautiful redbud. For a slow growing tree, they have not proven to be very strong around here.

Ornamental pear. Not such a big loss now that I am becoming a tree snob. Didn’t really like its columnar shape. Had gorgeous fall color though, and as I stated above any tree around here will be missed.

Another huge loss is the Toka plum we posted photos of this Spring. This was one of the very first trees we planted when we arrived in ’07. The fruit, tasted for the first time last year, was out of this world and the Spring blossoms were intoxicating.

This poor honey locust wins the “fastest grower” prize. Curly willow is the absolute fastest, but won’t be included here since all ours emerged unscathed. Yep, I plan to plant many more curly willow as it has proven to be fast growing and tough.

And finally, the huge old red oak on our hillside sustained major limb damage. And a huge old hickory (not pictured) in this vicinity went down

 

 

 

 

 

In this yogurt container grows a future magical forest. Each acorn was etched with unicorn horn by the unicorn himself. Sometimes though the engraved designs were a little juvenile, akin to what you might see in bathroom stalls, but still very magical and very powerful.

(Click the image for a larger view)

The grouping of the acorns corresponds to the stars in the late March sky. The alignment is critical to bridge the realms of our worlds. It also makes for a nice photo.

(Click the image for a larger view)

And so the forest grows and brings haven to all magical creatures – except for magical snakes because Anne doesn’t much care for them.

Perhaps it is the cooler temps and soggy ground – (stereo)typical weather  of New England states – but whatever the cause, the fall color has been vibrant this year. If only our trees were a little bigger.

The cabin blends nicely with the natural color. Almost like we planned it. Maybe Anne did – I’m a little color challenged.