The things we do to save a tree

Locust tree - Sunni's photos

Sometimes I wonder why we bother.  The desert is such a harsh place, but it’s nice to have some shade.  This poor tree has a broken stake that we need to replace, but we don’t have many supplies around here, as we did when we lived in CA.  We had a scrap pile that I really miss.  I could always find something to do a quick repair if I needed to.

 My temporary fix - Sunni's photos

The stake on this tree broke down below ground level when my husband was in OR, so I stacked up blocks and big rocks as a temporary solution.   I managed to rob these items from other places in the yard.  Since then the stake broke in another place and was doing this tree no good at all.  Wouldn’t you know, we’d get a windy rainstorm and had to go out in that in order to secure this tree so it wouldn’t snap off. 

Sunni's photos

We now have it tied in three places to keep it steady until we can get to the nursery to get a proper stake.  We used a rope and the nearby rocks and trees as tying places.  We needed to protect this tree in several directions because of the wind, so had no choice but to use an extension cord as our third “rope.”  Right now, it’s a hazard to walk around out in the yard in the dark.  I did that once and walked right into a rope I couldn’t see and forgot was there.  My boney behind landed on the rocks.  Luckily, I didn’t break anything.  Of course, the wind was blowing then too and my hair was in my face, which didn’t help matters.

I learned to tie my hair up before heading into the wind and to carry a flashlight providing I don’t need both hands to do a job.