I wrote before, about the massive leaf drop from our hedge in the back yard, after that giant Big Snow drop, back in February. All those leaves fell, and I’d been able to see homes behind us that I hadn’t seen in years. The hedge, planted decades earlier, had grown very tall. I contacted the lawn service that I use about having the hedge trimmed. He referred me to a tree trimming service. They came last week to look at the overgrown hedge, and they came yesterday to do the work.
Yes, now you can see, even more clearly, the house behind us. The tree guys worked hard, taking down most of the hedge, but leaving the trunks, all the way up and a little beyond the top of the backyard neighbor’s fence. They said that the trunks seem sturdy, and, as far as they could tell, healthy. They saw some green beginning to grow, but also said that, due to the low temperatures we had in February and the duration of the low temps, they couldn’t be sure. It was just going to be a wait-and-see situation.
I wondered what the time-frame was for the hedge, which seemed as though it had always been here. And, after getting out the photo albums, I could see that it had.
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- There are the hedges, late in 1959. We’d moved into the house in June, so it looks like Daddy planted those hedges that first summer. There they are, at the back of our yard. And a pretty meager snowfall. And a pretty sassy sister.
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- Easter, 1963. These are the hedges, planted at the same time, along the side of the back yard, also still there, now.
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- And this is December, 1963, with the hedges growing nice and full.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord is king!”
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:31-34 (New Revised Standard Version)
The hedges are 62 years old. I don’t know if that’s average or amazing. I’m hoping that it is average, normal, to-be-expected. I’m counting on them to pull through.