The Sweet Gum Chainsaw Massacre

Let me introduce you to the gum ball (in case you haven’t already met).  And not the sugary candy from a machine kind.  The kind that prevent you from playing outside barefoot in summer, roll around like marbles trying to trip you on the driveway, and entice your dog to endlessly chew on them.  Yes, my dog loves to chew on gum balls… and acorns… and sticks. 

Anyway, gum balls are evil.  They litter up my yard every fall, covering it with little spiky balls of torture.  The mower won’t shred them, the blower won’t scatter them, so they just sit there, getting smushed into the dirt, becoming permanently imbedded between tufts of grass, and piling up in the flower beds.  We hate them.  We have waged war on gum balls.  The only effective way to wage war against gum balls is to wage war against gum trees, from which all gum balls come.  Enter the gum ball warriors! 

My Papa and brother John, the chainsaw wielding lumbermen! 

 

Yes, I realize one of these pictures is from Halloween. I also realize there is no use of hammers in gum tree wars. 

Note to self:  Must remember to take more pictures of Papa and John holding chainsaws.

Last year they took down two gum trees in the side yard and this winter they felled one in the front yard.  Here are the lumbermen in action still life:

    

They made swift work of that tree, felling it in the time it took for me to brush my teeth. I didn’t even get to see it fall… which is probably a good thing, considering that this is where it landed:

Right smack on top of my butterfly bush!  Luckily, these things grow super fast, and this one was due for a trim anyway. 

Here’s a glimpse of the new landscape sans gum tree (plus all the wood that the lumbermen couldn’t carry and will have to come back for):

We are already enjoying the more open view without the tree, but come this Spring, I will really enjoy all the extra sunshine!  I can finally grow some “part-sun” plants on that side of the yard!  I’ll be sure to post before and after shots when the leaves come out.  While the tree may be gone, it left behind all its gum ball hangers-on.  I look forward to raking them all up and saying good riddance!  Now if I could just convince the neighbors to cut down all their gum trees, we could eradicate these pesky gum balls from our yard once and for all!  For now, I’m happy just to be free of one more gum tree. 

Lumbermen 3  Gum Trees 0. 

Victory is ours.