It's true- I kill for a living. My current job is somewhat ironic.

My current killing field is a yard in North Everett not too far from my own home. Always with an eye out for native plants, which I appreciate, I'd admired the Big-leaf Maples growing in this particular yard for years. " Gosh, look at em grow!" I'd think. And in about 11 years of appreciation, those maples had grown a bunch- they were pretty young trees.

Well one day last year, I noticed somebody had cut most of them down! "Boo hoo" I thought.

The irony is that, through a connection, I wound up being called in to "landscape" the place last year, which I did. Actually, one of the tree's did need to be removed - too close to the foundation- but the other could have been kept! Oh well, not my 'Private Property' and all that sort of thing. However, about half of one tree was still left on the property line, and an even larger Maple next door (despite the wishes of my client) was being kept by the neighbors (yay!).

So this year I'm back for 'phase two' and my first chore was weeding last years plantings. I'm being paid to kill little baby Maple trees which are everywhere! At first I thought it might be a case of tree revenge. The stressed remaining tree, along with it's supportive neighbor, rained seed down on the place in a fit of survival rage! Or so I first imagined, but then when I thought about it I realized that really I just created the perfect seed nursery myself last year by "bare-earthing" the place. Plus, even though I was working right under the remaining tree, tearing up it's babies, it didn't drop a widow-maker on me and pound me like a tent peg. So much for revenge theory. Secretly I think the trees like me because I like them, and talk to them. But not out loud in public (I do have a reputation to maintain!).

I've still got several hundreds of the little trees to do in - not too hard when they're only 3 inches tall. Procrastination is not a good idea with weeding maples! By next year it would require a major tug-of-war to yank one. In another year a mule might be needed.

While it would've been fun to watch the reforesting of this yard by Maples, I had canopy concerns at home. My much prized line of deciduous trees lost it's Queen this year - a giant clump of a Pie Cherry about 50+ feet tall, and about as wide. It was the "canopy" (well, sort of a linear canopy) anchor on the south side of my house. The tree was diseased every which way and getting worse by the year so it had to come down.

In more ecological irony, my big cherry was done in by a Moth! I have posted about being a bad "mother", but there are also Bad Moths! The big cherry tree was done in by an invasion of the dreaded Cherry -bark Tortrix - a little invasive moth that's spreading down from Canada where it first got imported. Another gift of globalization! The tree, weakened by the moth, developed a real who's -who of other cherry diseases. It had a pretty good 45 year life. Now it's gonna be firewood, and wood bowls (a local woodturner got some rounds).

I was concerned that the loss of the big cherry would mess up my migratory yard visitors - it's always been there for all the Tanagers, Vireos and Warblers, but I still have a row of other 40 ft tall dogwoods etc. And in the last few days they've been piled up with Yellow-rumped Warblers - so that's good.

But you really need to have some woods around somewhere if you want to keep seeing Wood Warblers! Got to have some branches for them Dendroica's! I know that some just don't get the extent of habitat loss that is ongoing in our area , and everywhere, but I do. So I'll do my bit, mercenary that I am. I think I'll replace my canopy hole with a little grove of Big-leaf Maples.

Jeff Gibson
pullin' and plantin' in
Everett Wa.

P.S. don't plant Big-leaf Maples right next to your foundation, or sidewalks- they're notorious sidewalk-lifters!