Winter proved a bit harsh for Angelkeep trees. One thorny unknown variety, which may have actually died the preceding year, took it on the chin from the strong southwesterly winter winds. At least its final position on its side indicated the wind came from that direction. It snapped off at ground level.
The thorn-tree-with-no-name seems significant now that the month for Easter looms so near at hand. Angelkeep’s task lay ahead to clear the tree from the area. This work will most likely take place very near, before or after, Easter week. It will be difficult work, no doubt the hands receiving many a stabbing puncture due to all of the thorns even yet trying to protect the tree, and jutting in every direction. Thorns project from half-an-inch in length to a full three. Length makes no difference to the nerve ending when thorn tips penetrate through leather gloves and stab through skin as easily as a shiny sewing needle.
A bit of sadness will linger for the fallen tree as its past nearly annually held a nest for some type of bird. The mother bird seemed always happy for the thorns that kept away predators. And of course Angelkeep will recall the story of Christ on the cross every time a thorn pierces human skin. Unimaginable is the agony Christ must have felt when an entire crown of thorns had been pressed into His head.
Another tree on Angelpond’s south shore toppled with in the same direction. The five-inch diameter base simply gave way from the edge of the pond where it grew. It did not die, but with the upper branches resting on the pond’s crest, it needs to be cut at the base and dragged out of the water to become some patio firewood in the summer ahead. Perhaps a hot dog will be roasted in honor of its several years of growth at Angelkeep.
Angelkeep even currently holds a potted evergreen that began a few years ago in the lawn. It’s time to find it a permanent home. Trees have become a cycle experience, some to go, while others begin, a good sign of a thriving habitat.
Tree planting reminded Angelkeep of a story written three days less than this very day, back in 1942, 81 years ago. Bud Rensberger served his drafted military time in F. D. Roosevelt’s alternate service program as a member of Bluffton’s C.P.S. No. 13 Camp located at what eventually became Ouabache State Park. The men of C.P.S. No. 13 were just days away from being moved to Medaryville. They worked in deep mud harvesting nursery grown trees that had reached the height of about one foot.
“Diggers,” as they were called, wore high boots, wading in the mud and hand-pulling the young trees, root and all, the reason the beds had been turned into soupy mud. Other COs (conscientious objectors) wheelbarrowed them to the Nursery Building’s basement level where others stood sorting into groups — large, small, and culls. These were bundled into bunches of 25, then hauled to a sand pile and “heeled in.” Heeling meant laying the roots of the clusters close together into the sand and covering them to keep them alive and fresh until they could be delivered to the purchasers.
The going price of 31 cents per bundle for the COs harvested trees included varieties Butternut, Walnut, Black Locust, and others. Their March task was to dig and prepare for sale well over half-a-million trees. These trees had actually been planted in previous years by CCC Camp 1592 boys, this group having been moved in April 1941 to Corydon, Indiana.
Angelkeep feels privileged to have to deal with only two fallen trees plus one planting this spring. Without fail, new evergreen sprouts will emerge all over the grassy-dandelion area of Angelkeep’s lawn. If prudent, new starts will be lifted by a garden trowel and kept in a pot for growth prior to a permanent planting a couple of years hence.
Angelkeep loves all evergreens. They keep a green hue all winter when deciduous trees drop their leaves. Birds of Angelkeep love the evergreens for their protection from those fierce winter winds. Well, unless they happen to be perched in any tree at the precise moment one of those winter wind blasts topples the tree.
There lies ahead Angelkeep tree work to be done, and the long awaited spring weather to tickle the heart of Angelkeep’s gardener. Then, and only then, the patio rocking chair awaiteth.
Mr. Daugherty is a Wells County resident who, along with his wife Gwen, enjoy their backyard and have named it “Angelkeep.”
