2002: Tree Planting

Today and tomorrow the weather will have temperatures exceeding 100F/40C. It appears that matters are going to crest and Austin then returns to the equally awful mid 90F/upper 30C climate. This isn’t exactly a shock other than the heat wave being early. Normally we experience such high temperatures by July-August, same goes for all the damned crickets getting into everything.

Ten years ago, the weather was milder, at least around the June weekend Somara and I planted the 20-gallon crepe myrtle out front. The builder didn’t privacy was important with the dining room window. Never mind how the view at night results in a straight shot into the living room with the lights on. We agreed on purchasing the tree/bush because this plant flourishes here.

The fun began around dawn. We rushed to Home Depot, bought the 20-gallon and a 10-gallon (it’s doing great in the backyard; it’s much, much taller) and I figure some other crap. Somara’s pick-up truck wasn’t sufficient for transporting the gear, thus we rented the special, larger pick-up Home Depot has. We had to get in queue thanks to someone else sharing our need; we passed the time eating breakfast at McDonald’s.

Once all the vehicles were ironed out, we got down to digging a hole deep enough for our new purchase. The first few inches…easy, probably 15-20 minutes of work. The remaining couple feet took several hours. Stray pieces of limestone, clay, whatever. Dynamite would’ve been more efficient!

It was pretty satisfying to achieve the task by noon. As you can see from the photo above, the crepe myrtle appears rather, well, wimpy. The tree/bush obscures the window adequately plus has a nice color. Blends in with its surroundings too.

Today the crepe myrtle looks like this…

I’d say our 20-gallon investment has exceeded our expectations for privacy. With the blistering hot Summers, the tree/bush does a good job at providing shade for the dining room and the cats’ viewing perching in the window sill.

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