Friday, October 29, 2010

Triumphs and Tragedies

I'm pretty late posting again this week.  Over the summer I would come home on a Friday evening and take a turn around the yard recounting all that I had done over the course of the week and the events that had happened.  Unfortunately the evenings have become incredibly short as of late and I tend to squeak into the driveway just in time to see the sun go down.  Not nearly enough time to do any work outside in the evenings nor to take my walk on Fridays.  I may need to retire Triumphs and Tragedies over the winter, or perhaps just make it an occasional posting as opposed to weekly.

In any case I thought I would share with you my little red oak.  Purchased from the MacPhail Woods Nursery this past spring he was my prize purchase at $50.  The trees at MacPhail Nursery are field grown and I've been concerned as this guy's taproot was damaged when he got dug up.  But he has persevered and grown considerably over the summer.  Now, to my delight, he has shown us why he is called a red oak.


3 comments:

Jane said...

Hi Marguerite: I love your red oak tree - congrats on nurturing it - it looks so healthy now. I've heard of MacPhail's nursery and I plan to buy many many trees from them to increase the size of my forest. I was wondering how oak trees would do on the island and now I know!

Northern Beauty Seeker said...

It's he the sweetest little oak ever! And blushing his heart out for the fall. :)

My neighbour has a Bur Oak and I love the leaves. They look like an oak tree leaf ought to look, strong and elegant. (Can you tell I love oaks!) lol

Marguerite said...

Jane, red oak is the only oak native to PEI and it is our provincial tree! I'm not sure why but apparently it is quite rare in the wild so I really wanted to plant one on our property. Well that and the fact it is an outrageously beautiful tree. I highly recommend buying trees at MacPhail nursery and visiting the homestead. It's a really beautiful spot, lots of trails and you can see mature trees before buying your small trees. It gives you an idea of what you're getting into. Just bring lots of money because you'll want one of everything! I already have plans to go back next spring.

Ms. S - He is a beautiful tree and I'm really impressed how quickly he's growing. It's a great feeling when you put the right plant in the right spot and they happily grow away. There's only a couple trees I can immediately identify and oaks are one of them due to that distinctive leaf shape!