Tree Trimming

The maple tree in the back yard has been expanding its territory of late.  The branches have poofed out and down, coming lower and lower.  It makes negotiating the back yard a little difficult, and there's no clear path to throw a baseball.  Time to trim.

I got out my tree saw and figured out which branches would be best to trim.  Zipped them off in fairy short order, though I had to saw the biggest one twice because it broke off roughly and the bottom peeled away badly, so I had to neaten it up.  The littler maple also needed one branch nipped off as well, and I noticed that near the fence, my nemesis the black walnut was sneaking back to life.  The black walnut that set up shop near the house finally gave up after being hacked to pieces four or five times, but the one by the fence keeps coming back.  I sawed that one down as well.  Recruited the boys into carrying the brush out front.

Next I got out the caulk gun and the rubber caulk cartridge.  I don't want any diseases sneaking into my trees!  I spread rubbery black gooeyness over the exposed raw wood like  giant band-aids and stepped back to check the effect.

Oh yeah!  The back yard looks much bigger now.  Way more lawn space without sacrificing shade.

Swimming Deferred

The boys' school had scheduled an end-of-year trip to the local water park for today.  Unfortunately, a front of thunderstorms has moved itno the area, so the trip has been postponed to Wednesday, when the weather is supposed to be better.  The boys took it well.