I THINK THAT I SHALL NEVER SEE...

This was our front yard just over one year ago. Our beautiful maple tree that gave us so much shade and privacy was decimated on the east side by a series of storms that tore off limbs as fast as we could clear them away. Then, in late summer, the power company came and sheared off all of the west side branches - even though they don't even come close to the power lines. But that's a rant for another day. Anyway, all of that led to this:

Robert and Rob took the tree down. By a sheer fluke, they left the house standing, so it wasn't a total loss. But so sad to have the tree gone! The shade, the privacy, the beauty - all gone. So we've spent a lot of time researching new trees and landscaping plans. But when you google "pretty, fast-growing trees, all for free and a landscaper to put them in" not much comes up.

And even though some people thought the stump was great, we felt there ought to be a little more. Erin and I made a couple of trips to nurseries and were encouraged. But last Friday we ended up in Layton. We did not plan to buy there, but we found this Purple Robe Locust that was so pretty and the man said he could get it into the van and we thought all would be well, so we bought it.

Well, the man's idea of "fitting it in the car" and ours was not quite the same, and our trip home from Layton became a 90 minute white-knuckle expedition through all of the backroads of Davis County to Sugar House with 7 feet of the tree hanging out of the back of the van. Halfway home, a wild windstorm kicked up that threw the tree from one side of the car to the other and poor little 4 year old Sammy would have to hang on to the trunk, and Holly tried to reach back and hold on to the pot to try and keep the tree sticking straight out the back and not in the next lane over! We were trying hard to drive slowly to keep the leaves and blossoms on the tree and the wind was NOT helping!

In this picture above you can see all of the limbs from the old maple tree that have spent the winter in the backyard. Robert spent the morning hauling them all to the street for the city clean-up next week. He worked hard all morning before he even tackled the planting.

What could be in a hole that causes so much despair?

Really, really big roots to chop up and dig out.

Finally, Robert and Erin are ready to place it in the hole. I think this is the first of two or three attempts to place it in the hole.

Planting the ground cover shrubs that will fill in and cover the stump.

With triple stakes, this tree will grow straight, dang it! I will personally confront any power company tree killer who dares to trim it!

Now, we just sit back and wait for the next 30 feet to grow.

"The same thing we do every week, Pinky"

Today's children are not like those we raised in days of yore. They are not amused by simple toys, say, a mailing envelope on the head. They must have the latest technical gadget. These babies won't be bought off with last year's cell phone - even if it has batteries - even if it is charged; if mom and dad don't use it, neither will they. And don't even get them started on a bright plastic colored "phone" that talks like Elmo. They know. They know more than you.

The first thing Max wants EVERYDAY is to have his picture taken on my camera. He always knows where it is. Even when I hide it from view he can still sense it somehow and points right to it. He wants his every mood validated from happy and goofy to sad and despised of all babies. He knows how to wear the right accessories for the shoot.

"See," he says, "I'm sad." "No one loves me. No one lets me play with remotes or cords or grandma's medicine or whatever Sammy has right now or drop my cars in the toilet. I'm gonna eat some worms. Until I get a little taller and then I'll take over the world!"

As I said, you can't buy a child off with a substitute or just pretend. Max knows when I actually take a picture and he knows how to push the buttons to see it on the camera screen. Sometimes he gets so excited that he can't sit still for the photo and lunges for the camera

Or tries to push the button to see the photo before it's even taken.

"What am I thinking now, grandma?"

Max has learned to pose on cue - to "sparkle". But it's all a ploy to suck in the grown-ups, to blind us to his long term plans.

If taking over the world doesn't pan out, he's always got his fall back plan of a rock musician.

I did manage to sneak a photo of him at his most vulnerable, when he lets his hair down, so to speak. Whenever Max has his sippy cup his hand goes up to his head in a little ballerina position - index finger down, the others up daintily as he drinks his milk and drops off to sleep. Perhaps he's not quite the evil overthrower yet.