TIMBER!!!!!

Yesterday's project at Casa de la Flaming Bore was to (sob!) denude our old sick blue spruce tree that fell victim to cytospora canker disease this summer. Dr. Big Bore, a certified tree surgeon in a past life, performed the last rites and then we got busy with the loppers. Most of the tree looked like the top left of this picture--brown, with needle drop. Beyond repair.

But! There is still hope! Being the folk artisans (?) that we are, we have decided to keep the trunk and create a memorial of some sort. Our current thinking is to stick a cat weather vane on top and then nail in directional signs indicating the distance to our favorite places: Rocky Mountain National Park, Mount Magazine, Arkansas; 30-Mile Campground, Wichita Pizza Factory, El Charro's of Pittsburg, Fredonia, Phelan Ranch, and, of course, Climax USA. We think this piece of art will go well with the nearby bottle tree and cause all the neighbors to shudder. A progress report will be made before the end of the year--provided we haven't been thrown off the block.