Cold and Shiver

Not many people tuck their trees in at night. I'm one of those people.
I have three citrus trees no taller than I am and I cover them up at night. I clip sheets, (that I keep for utility purposes) together and drape them over the branches before dark. The lemon tree is loaded with fruit right now and will bloom in the next few weeks.
It has not been this cold in ten years! 22' F this week, let's wish for clouds!
I can deal with replacing flowers and little bushes, but fruit trees are expensive and take years to produce so I want to protect them.
Nighty night!

Fruit Trees

Landscape trees are planted for their beauty, function as shade givers, and are planted to be there for generations.
Here in the land of commercial fruit trees, we look at trees from a different perspective. A walnut tree, for instance, will produce a cost-effective crop from somewhere between three and twenty years. Then it is pulled out, replaced by a new tree that will, again, produce in about three years. Same thing with all other crop trees. You might say, it's like growing beans, when the plant is spent, till it under.
About thirty years ago someone gave each of us in the family, for lack of inspiration, a fruit tree as a Christmas gift. For a while we had spring cherries. until two years ago we had walnuts to pick up every year.
All these years we ate Satsuma Plums. Dark gray on the outside, deep plum color on the inside. It produces a tremendous amount of fruit every year. Several hundred pounds, enough to keep us, our dogs, the neighbors happy.
This year some branches have snapped as the branches were too heavy with fruit to support them.
This tree has certainly outlived its expected productive life.

Oh, the cat has nothing to do with the story. It's just a cute picture of a big guy hanging out in a kids chair.

The Mighty One has Fallen

I was sorry to see that this huge Eucalyptus tree has fallen. It had been an oasis of deep shade in the summer.
Many of the branches can't be seen because it fell into the creek. Good thing those had been southern winds.

Replacing the Trees

The front of our house faces south, so with a little bit of sunshine and warmth I can imagine early spring.
The tulips and daffodils are pushing through the soil. The grass is looking green, if not tall, and that's fine with me. By the middle of February our fruit trees will be in bloom.
Meanwhile I have to decide what tree to plant to replace the Sequoia we just lost. It provided summer shade and cooling for us in the afternoons. I want to stay with a tree that stays in the twenty-five foot range. I'm leaning toward an ornamental Pear.
Are there any other good suggestions out there for zone 9?
I'm yearning to take my morning coffee outside and plan my day while sitting under some tree.

The Trees That Keep on Giving

Here's the update on the back yard tree clean-up.
The messy Magnolia is history. I step outside and still marvel that there is no debris to clean up. There had been for years, more and more as the tree grew. Gone.
So now the tree guy: Big"T", Tom Harris, came back with his stump grinder. He worked for three hours.
Here is the bonus: I now have several large piles of mulch, or soil conditioner, in my yard. Finely ground wood. When I buy it at OSH, or Home Depot, etc. it's pricey, $5-10 for a sack. Add to that the cost of driving to the store, my car is not an economy variety, well, it adds up.
So I'm thinking, that maybe (with the right "girl math" formula) this tree work didn't cost me a dime. Think of all the free stuff I ended up with, and it's good for my planted areas.
I took three sacks of Camphor tree shreds to Suzanne yesterday, it smelled sooo good in my car as we transported it, I think her dog will want to lay in it. Ours are enjoying the "yard beds"!
Now I have to get on the ball and make use of it.

Next, finishing off the terrace. The gravel and sand waits in the driveway.