Mom's Tree

Let me tell you a story about a tree. When we moved into our house last year we knew we'd be removing the grass and adding the fire pit. There was a plum tree at the edge of the yard, that my mom called dibs on before our boxes were even unpacked. When we stopped watering the grass, it became obvious that the tree was benefiting from the sprinklers and it did not have a bubbler of its own. It began to wilt, which irked my mom to no end. She told me she'd dig it out herself, if breathing wasn't such a struggle for her - I'm sure she would have. She was pretty adamant that the tree lived. It mattered little to me, so the only time it would get water was when it rained. Fall came, and winter followed. Having lost mom in September, I hadn't given the tree much thought. I assumed it was dead. But then in spring, it developed buds and grew.



Maybe mom had something to do with it? But more likely, the neighbors watering their yard on the other side of the wall allowed it to flourish. When we were getting quotes for the landscaping we had no intention of keeping the plum tree. It didn't really fit into our design ideas, and we really wanted clean, low maintenance plants. However, when the time came Showready suggested that they could transplant it and incorporate it into our design and it'd save some money since it'd be one less plant to purchase. Plus, I knew how happy my mom would be. So, the choice was easy. The plum tree was relocated and it handled the move A-OK.



A few months went by, and one night, Frank and Jeff were in the backyard. They noticed something furry in the branches. As they approached the tree they were able to see it was a hummingbird. Never before had I see a hummingbird sleep. My mom and grandma had hummingbird feeders since I was wee, but never, not once, do I recall seeing one sleep. I had no idea that they enter a hibernation state called torpor. This ensures that the birds don't starve to death before morning. It was pretty wild, but it seemed rather appropriate that the hummingbird took comfort in mom's tree.