November 19-- New film by people who brought us Once

The people who brought us “Once” are out with a new film, Eden. I’ve seen the trailers. Okay, I’m hooked on Irish film; I want to see it. Once was an outstanding independent film that I hope everyone had the chance to see. Unfortunately, no screening dates for Chicago yet. Here’s the website.

November 19-- Looking toward Thanksgiving

The end of the fall, the cool weather. It all adds up to time to put away the outdoor furniture. What a terrific summer and fall we’ve had. The redesign of the yard has brought both families into the space and into contact with increased frequency. Guests, even those who are visiting on either side, are enjoying the yard. It has been a win/win for everyone.

Jane has said the garden is a work in progress, a way to embrace life with hope of seeing how things will turn out. I’m delighted in the rear area work. It is really great. The front area, as I wrote some days ago, still needs some work.

And we need to continue to clear out the “stuff” in our lives. There have been a lot of things that happened this past year. I think we can enter next week with a clear head about what we’re most thankful for. Still more projects to deal with, but I’m really happy with what has happened to us this year. And while the yard is just a symbol of that renewal, it is an important and visible sign of success.

November 14-- New hope arrives in an unusual form

It’s always time to play catch-up with posts. There’s been something going around. I caught it while at my nieces wedding in Oregon three weeks ago. It, and the drugs I’ve been taking to deal with it, have messed up my sleeping, made me forget appointments and been a drag to deal with.

But, it seems to be at the end of its run now. And good news, the City of Chicago installed the tree we ordered early in the summer for our parkway. The tree is a type of elm. The Dutch Elm Disease was responsible for the death and destruction of many of these trees over the years, so that a generation of children does not know the joy of playing under an elm tree in the heat of summer.

It seems hard to remember why we named towns and streets after elms. They have disappeared from our lives. We were able to order the tree through a program with the city. Unlike the standard city program, which provides the next available tree, this program, which is also free, allows you to name the type of tree to plant.

We choose an Accolade Elm. We actually received a Pioneer or Patriot Elm. (There is a difference. I’ll correct this later). Looking on-line, there doesn’t seem to be any pictures of elms that aren’t protected by law. Well imagine a tree growing to 50’ to 60’ in height. The limbs start about 8’ above the ground and grow in a vase or V shape into the sky. The leaves look like arrowheads, about 2” or so. They have serrated edges and are not exactly symmetrical. And the bark can have a texture all its own. That’s an elm.

The planting makes clear that an early garden plan I had for the parkway needs serious work. The city planted the tree off-center, so that there is a space for another large plant, if we want, to its east. Still, at this point in the year, with the winter coming in, we have new hope in our parkway. And that is good.

(As I was writing this, I looked up elms in wikipedia. Now the old tree was a sugar maple. It was a magnificent tree that stood taller than our three-story frame three-flat. I’m guessing that was about 70’. Looking at photos of maples, I see the round bottom and a pointed top. I never really noticed a pointed top on our tree; it was just a round beauty. The new tree should have a definite V shape to it.

The wood from the maple has been stored in a woodpile in the yard. I’m hoping to use it for an art project. In the meantime, it makes for great firewood. The wood has a wonderful sweet smell and burns slowly.

It is also interesting to see that the elm, like the oak, is venerable. It was the Liberty Tree, the Treaty Tree and the Washington Elm. Cool.)