a tree and a boy

When we bought our house 7 years ago we had one tree in our front yard. I don't remember if had leaves at the time. It was October so probably not. The next summer we noticed the leaves were dying and wasps were swarming around the tree all the time. Our next door neighbors at the time said this happened every summer and the wasps always came.

So Lamar and I talked about removing the tree and planting something else. But we didn't know what kind of neighborhood board red tape we'd have to deal with. And as we do with most home improvements, we just left the wasp tree.

And then I started telling Lamar when we had children I didn't want wasps in the yard. It wasn't safe. That's the kind of thing I worried about premotherhood. Never mind our street is way too busy to play in the front yard.

Then our next door neighbors sold their house (back when you could sell houses) and new neighbors moved in. As we got acquainted, they mentioned they had a tree in their backyard that seemed to have the same problem ours did. They had an arborist (didn't know they existed) come look at the tree and he diagnosed it with scales. And scales can be treated with a simple anti-fungal (I think) root treatment you can get at Home Depot.

We purchased said product and began treating the tree. And that summer we had more leaves, less wasps. We continued to treat and each year it looked better. The last two springs it had pretty yellow blossoms. (Turns out it's a tulip something . . .poplar or maple? What do you know! I love tulips.)

It's a quirky tree though. It sprouts leaves off the trunk all the way to the base of tree.

But this fall the color was really beautiful. I enjoyed watching the colors change and the leaves slowly fall, just as the should at the right time of year.

So I got my boy to pose under the tree for some photos.

I so wish I was a good photographer. Karen, can I book you now to come take pictures next fall?

A tree and a boy. Both should not be underestimated (though we never considered cutting Luke down). With the right diagnosis and the right treatment, both miraculously flourished in their own quirky ways.

Helping Dad rake leaves in pajamas.