When I think of nests I think of trees. Trees hold nests and some are the nest like our large Maple Trees. We have these wonderful massive maples lined along our front side yard that reach to the hedgerow on the west. We see grackles, woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Black-Capped Chickadees, and nuthatches to name a few feeding from these maples and/or building nests in them. There are many large holes used as nests by these birds. When we moved in this house there were 8 of these monoliths. Over many years the trees had been tapped for sap to make delicious maple syrup. We had a neighbor who would tap these plus many others on ours and others' properties. We were grateful and delighted when he gave us a complimentary jug. As the years past he stopped tapping as his age, his mother's illness, and weather did not permit this hobby to continue consistently. He eventually sold his home and moved away. Not much longer after that we had the town cut down 3 of these monsters as they were dying and dropping large limbs often. Stumps are all that remain, however they do attract grass and weeds that periodically need a trim from the weed whacker. A storm that included strong winds would sway the remaining giants waking them from their slumber to toss limbs and bark at our yard and house. We would hold our breath praying that the two closest to our house would remain steady and toss their ammo away from us. Sometimes they would have javelin throwing contests. We would see the limbs standing up with the ends stuck in the soft ground.
This May a large Maple in the back decided to join in on this fun of limb tossing. However this large yet smaller maple (70 feet compared to the larger cousins of 80+ feet) was a little over zealous and tried to toss one of the largest limbs it had. Thus bending part of the chain link fence of the dog's pen and leaving a lot of wood to cut up and stack. Good for us with the supply of wood for our furnace but bad as this was a little time consuming and a bit back breaking as we weren't prepared to do this chore. Being that our sons are no longer readily available to help this posed some grumbling. We called the insurance company to alert them and see if we could get the fence fixed. But our deductible was too high so off to Lowe's to get replacement parts to mend it. We also asked the insurance company if they would consider paying for the removal of this tree as it was very close to the house and would be prone to more limb tossing. "...no we don't pay for preventative." So instead of paying a few hundred dollars they would opt to wait for the tree to do some damage and possibly pay up to several thousand and let's hope no one gets hurt. Brain Surgery! Well we cleaned up with the help of my brother from Australia and my husband's tenacious personality. No, my brother didn't fly all the way from down under just to help us. But during a planned visit he did roll up his sleeves and gave Chris a hand.
Well in July there was a sudden and brief storm that literally ripped through our property. I was so alarmed at the intensity and speed of the wind that came. I watched from my kitchen window as the 2 towering pines in the farther back yard bent and large massive limbs came barreling down landing in the field. I looked to my right and there was that Maple with it's largest limb or should I say half of the tree laying on the entire fenced pen and the dog house. The garage door window shattered and our metal roof banged up. I was so afraid to go and look out front. As I apprehensively looked out the front windows I was horrified to see a limb the size of a tree across the road. No one would be able to get by either way. Limbs were strewn all over. Trees fell in the woods also and across the tractor roads. In the words of my son Ethan, "Looks like someone was having tank practice." Leaves and limbs just littered the property.
Time to call the insurance company again. This time we were able to hire a crew to take down that maple plus the one looming towards the house out front. We had the guys cut them down and leave us the big logs for firewood. Chris and I are slowly getting those up and stacked for seasoning.
It is sad to see these extraordinary trees grow old (being well over 100 years old) and to fall so easily. They seem so majestic and steady but with old age they are weak and frail. These sweet maples have lived a good long life and served us well. Shade, leaves to rake into big piles for jumping in when the kids were little and a wonderful view when wanting to be quiet in the morning. Now we have plenty of firewood for our wood furnace for several years. We were not expecting such a supply so soon and that is how the Lord works. Knowing what we need and supplying it.
So the nest was not emptied here, the nest actually left. Next Spring we will not be seeing the birds nesting in the hollow cavities of this maple or hear the woodpeckers knocking for insects. But we know the Lord provides for all his creatures and they will move on to the next maple. The three trees after this one will eventually need to be removed as they are both dying and one is very hollow. The very last one is doing well and will probably last a few more years.
One thing I promise is that no matter how old I get or how far my children move away, the nest will always be here, in my heart.
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