
When we moved here some 33 years ago, this tree was one of a cluster of three little pines, all planted extremely close to each other. They were so close together that they really were not thriving. One died, and then there were two.
It didn't take much more time to figure out that even the two trees were not going to do well so close together. So one weekend out came the saw and the axe. And then there was one.
That's all our one pine tree needed -- a little breathing room. It absolutely thrived, growing taller and stronger year by year until it towered over our home. It is an old friend that has stood sentinel in the front of the house for many years. But like Linda and me, it was time for this wonderful tree to retire.
So what took forty years to grow, was completely dismantled in about 2-1/2 hours. The little slide show below shows the progress from tree to flat spot on the lawn.