The Tall Texas Tale of Tree-Toppling Tortoises

Our old peach tree in the dog-legged corner of the backyard has been hammered in the past.  Major limbs have been snapped by storms and on some occasions by the over-burdening of ripe, juicy fruit.  Either way, it became time for chain saw surgery to remove those snapped limbs and let new growth regenerate more boughs that would provide more peaches the next season in mid-June.

So it was while I was mowing the lawn under the peach tree amply loaded with a fine crop of ripening peaches this season, that I thought to myself; I should prop some support under these heavy limbs.  Well, I fear my thoughts were too late, for my pair of tortoises were noticing the very same peaches I was.

Peach boughs heavy with fruit in early June

Come morning light, I am dismayed by the sight of a toppled center of our peach tree.  I see Chomper the tortoise nonchalantly strolling around under the downed limb.  

Chomper acting like nothing happened - but I have my suspicions.
Here is photographic proof of Chomper strolling around the toppled tree,
coincidence - I think not!

Chomper trying to "act natural"
But I see that little smirk on his face.

I can only conclude that he and his troublesome brother, Isaac, had shimmied up the peach tree in the night, bounced up and down on the limbs until they had their desired effect, to topple the fruit-laden branches down to the ground for easy snacking.  Oh! Those mischievous reptiles!

The damage done

Chomper secretly laughs in my face.

Some suggest that the tortoise may not be to blame.  They suggest that the night's thunderstom's winds and rain collecting on the leaves, along with the heavy crop of peaches may have been the true cause of the tree's collapse.

But I think I hear tortoises laughing behind my back.

Memorial Day Retreat

I flew the Colors from the brick column on our front porch in honor of those who served us and in memory of those who sacrificed for our common ideals and welfare.  I like days when I can fly my American flag.  For Memorial Day 2016 I put the flag on display on Friday morning heading into the 3 day weekend.

We Sunesons have a standing invitation on each and every 3-day weekend of the Summer (Memorial, 4th of July and Labor) plus New Years to join our dear friends the McCords at "The Blue House", their East Texas country estate 106 miles SE of Garland.  After putting out this Country's Colors on Friday, we packed and headed for an extended relaxation time at the Blue House.

Someone in the kitchen with Donna, Someone in the kitchen I know-ooow
A strawbery pie in the making

Fellow guest Brenda had arrived ahead of us, and was set up mixing flavored martinis for broad distribution.  Brenda also had a few light meals ready to prepare for us all.  Our hostess, Donna, was recovering from hip-replacement surgery a few weeks before; so she was especially glad for the company and the help in the kitchen.

We waltzed in with the now traditional Merck's Coffee Cake and a box of ingredients for lunches and dinners in the coming days.

Brenda & Sue in the Blue House Kitchen
Mac & Cheese for Dinner

It is mostly a time of sitting around and enjoying company of long-time friends, with snacks and drinks a part of the social scene.  Our main meal contribution was a couple of bowls of mac & cheese; the cheeses were a soft creamy truffle cheese and a blue Gorgonzola -  your choice (or you could take a little of each), along with a fruit salad and some salami and prosciutto olive and spring onions for added pizzazz.  We alway eat well at the Blue house.

Just a bit of the typical exhuberamnce (after an apple'tini or two?)

Nothing sweet will go to waste 

Sue eagerly volunteered to use her flexible spine and god-given hip joints to insert some of Donna's colorful bedding plants into her garden and empty flower pots around poolside.  Meanwhile, Donna directed Kirby and me to use our chainsaws to do manly things like cut down a oak snag that looked ready to fall where we all park our cars.  I brought my chainsaw, and filled it up with some of Kirby's 2-cycle fuel.  We each tugged half the morning on our respective started cords, but got no sound of a working engine.  I believe it was a bad batch of gasoline that put the kibosh on manly chainsaw activity.  So Kirby and Donna went into town and bought an electric chainsaw.  The new one started right up right out of the box.  We sawed down that old snag.

The last day of the old oak snag
downed before it crushed our cars

Then it was time for another martini.

Ah! Magnolia

Magnolia catching Moonbeams

Ah, the Magnolia, its fragrant blossom an image of the Southland.  

I suppose many folks have a favorite tree, and if I think about it, I am not sure that the magnolia would be my favorite of them all, but after all I did plant one in my back yard twenty-five years ago or so; so I'd say I do admire the magnolia.  I know that my first impression of the magnolia tree goes back to 1962 when we were living on Regalia Court in California, and the landowner next door had a wonderful old house with a magnolia tree planted in the corner of what seem to this 4-year old as an immense walled verdant garden grounds.  The seed pods of the magnolia looked  to me like a pagoda from the mysterious orient and inside this little pagoda of a pod were "beans" that were the brightest of reds, red like the silk worn by a Chinese princess.  And when I scratched these bright red beans, the aroma was strong and distinctive.  I admired the magnolia for is bold and distinctive colors, scents and shapes.  I am pretty sure these memories are why I have a magnolia arching over by back deck in Texas this day.

There are less admirable qualities of the magnolia too, they drop their leaves year round, and some would see the magnolia as only a "messy tree".  But do we all not have a lesser trait or two also?  These magnolia leaves in life are a broad and study waxy green on the limb, and they remain still a broad and study leaf as if they were made of dried parchment when they drop to the ground.  My mulching mower makes the leaves of parchment disappear every weekend with a satisfying pass over the lawn.

The glory of the magnolia is late Spring when the broad white pedals of the fragrant blossom open up for but a day or two as if the broad waxy green leaves have captured last night's moonbeams.  The blossom smells so fruity and sweet that we are want to harvest one of them when they appear on some of the lower boughs.  We place the blossom on our dining table and often bow to inhale its fragrance as we pass the room.  Yet these blossoms soon turn from the soft moonlight white to a uniform soft cinnamon brown that calls to my mind the sun kissed skin of south pacific island maidens.

The magnolia is a delight to the senses.  Perhaps the most of the salient senses of a Texas Spring is the feel of heavy, humid air that comes upon us.  While the humidity is personally not pleasant, the Texas Spring brings other pleasures such as the evening fireflies, fine multi-sensory thunderstorms which waters the magnolia tree and then knock off its leaves, only to grow more leaves along with its large, showy pure white blossoms.  The majestic magnolia, emblem of the good things in life right under our noses.