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By Mom Unplugged, March 14, 2008 10:39 am

As I write this, I hear the angry buzzing of a chainsaw and heavy thuds shake the house as huge chunks of tree trunk drop to the ground. A tall Ponderosa Pine growing inches from my house is being cut down to make room for a master bedroom extension that will add some square footage, as well as fix my horrible mystery roof leak.

I am so sad to see this tree go, although it is just one of probably a hundred tall Ponderosa Pines that surround my house. The decision was a difficult one for me, but I know that the even bigger, stronger trees nearby will ultimately benefit from this smaller tree’s removal. They will receive increased nutrients and water, especially important in these drought years. I must say that my views on forest management have changed since my close encounter with a wildfire nearly six years ago. Trees need some space to be healthy and strong.

Because of my mixed feelings, I had planned on being absent during the tree-cutting, but watching the men work on this windy day has actually been quite fascinating. One man climbed the tree and strapped himself to the top. He rocked back and forth precariously in the wind as he cut off all the branches. He clipped the branches to a rope that was held by a second man on the ground, then he sent the branches down the rope, like a zip-line, safely out of the way of the house.

Now he has finished removing all the branches and is slicing off heavy sections of trunk working from the top down. I hope he is careful as to what section he is cutting or he could end up having a one way flight down to the ground.

As you can see from my photos, this is not a job for those who have a mild fear of heights such as myself. Watching this man swaying back and forth in the wind a hundred feet above the ground makes my palms sweat! To give this next photo a sense of scale, that roof on the left is the top of my two story house. The man is hanging off that tree much, much higher than my house!

The tree will not go to waste. The men have brought a chipper and will chop it up into a big pile of wood chips that I will spread on the children’s backyard playground area to control the weeds and protect them from falls. So the tree will live on here in my yard after all, just in a different form.

Taken from my bedroom skylight:

And from the bedroom window:

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By Mom Unplugged, September 16, 2007 10:51 am

Fall is in the air. I can tell by the cooler nights (in the 40′s now) and how it takes much longer in the morning for the air to warm up. The heat has even come on once or twice, albeit very briefly.

Mostly though, I can tell by the light. There is a subtle shift in the color and warmth of the light. Summer light is gloriously warm, soft and yellow. Then one day in September I suddenly realize that the light has become sharply cold, harsh and white. In this photo I tried to capture this light and the way it reflects off the long needles of the Ponderosa Pines. When I see this crystalline glow, I know that daytime temperatures will soon cool down in anticipation of the snows we hope to have despite our long drought.

My thoughts begin to turn to “nesting.” Sorting junk to make room for the long winter of being mostly indoors. Cooking soup, and squash, and pumpkin bread. Putting the garden “to bed” for the season. Monitoring nighttime temperatures so as to bring all tender potted plants indoors before the first frosty night.

Most of the summer inhabitants begin to leave to return to the warm desert areas that are gradually becoming tolerable as we here become cold. Traffic eases. Those of you in big cities will laugh at me when I talk of “traffic.” In the winter we can always make a left turn almost immediately. In the summer it may take a whole three minutes to find a break in the traffic! My goodness, do we permanent residents complain about that!

With the migration of the “Summer People,” as we tough “Year-Rounders” call them, our small Safeway grocery store decongests. The narrow aisles are no longer clogged with Summer People attempting to find (unsuccessfully of course) the same gourmet organic capers that they buy in Phoenix (“The Valley” as it is known here).

The overworked cashiers seem relieved at the exodus and there is something of a camaraderie that builds between the grocery store staff and the “Year-Rounders.” They know us by name and we discuss the weather, the growth of our children, how much snow we might get, and other weighty matters.

The golf course behind our house is gradually depleted of golfers all fleeing the cold. It will close on October 1st and then will become my children’s winter playground. No longer restricted to before 7 AM or after 7PM, the kids run wild out there, flying kites on windy days, having picnics on sunny days, and building snowmen on snowy days.

I think my favorite part of the approaching fall is how the cooler air begins to smell deliciously of pinyon and cedar as those of us brave enough to stay for the winter start to have our evening fires in our fireplaces. If I could bottle the smell of burning pinyon I would make a scratch-and-sniff blog post for you all to enjoy. Even the Wikipedia entry on “pinyon” points out that: “The fragrance of the wood, especially when burned, is unmistakable.” If you have never been in the cold parts of the Southwestern US in the wintertime, open your spice cabinet and find some cumin. Give it a sniff, and that is the closest thing I can think of to the heavenly smell of burning pinyon.

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By Mom Unplugged, May 18, 2007 10:51 am

It is the last full week of school here and my daughter and her Montessori class have been taking many field trips. One was to a local tree farm where they grow Ponderosa Pine seedlings for use in reforesting areas burned from wildfire.

The nursery kindly sent each child home with a baby Ponderosa Pine, and even some seeds to plant. My daughter’s little tree measures just 8 inches and may one day be over 100 feet tall!!.

We planted the tiny seedling yesterday. Knowing how tall it could ultimately grow presented us with a bit of a challenge to find a bare spot. We have plenty of huge Ponderosas around the property already. But we found a nice place in the front yard that is not too close to the house or the other trees. Here it is in it’s new home.

The mother of a third-grader in my daughter’s class had a marvelous idea. When her son was in kindergarten, he received a Ponderosa seedling. The family decided to plant the tree in the forest near a geocache site so that they could easily visit it again. They visit the tree regularly and now, after four years, it is over three feet tall and doing very well!

Below are photos of the pine seeds (I had never seen Ponderosa Pine seeds before - they are quite small) and some mature trees in our yard. The last photo shows the roof of our
two-story house to give you a bit of an idea of the mature trees’ height!

Today they are going to an alpaca farm. I hope they don’t send each child home with a baby alpaca. I’m sure it would be awfully cute, but I think 3 kids, 8 cats, 2 birds, and 2 dogs are enough needy creatures for this mother to manage!

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By Mom Unplugged, March 17, 2007 10:53 am

I sit here in a Claritin-induced mental fog. The Southwest US is experiencing some sort of rare “pollen burst” brought on by sudden record high temperatures. I heard a rumor that the whole state of New Mexico is sold out of Claritin! Glad I have my stash.

Today all I can muster up is a photo of this beautiful spring day among the tall Ponderosa Pines of the Arizona mountains. I hope it brings a little warmth and hope for the future to those of you in the Northeast who are still suffering in winter weather today. Enjoy!