Timber!

No, that isn't a shrub--that is our beloved Red Japanese Maple. On the ground. With its roots snapped up in the air.
And those plants around its base are my vinca and bleeding hearts. *sob* This tree was my FAVORITE part of the backyard. It bloomed beautifully in the spring--a huge tree full of pink flowers!!--and provided the shade for my bleeding hearts to flourish into early summer. Unfortunately on Tuesday in the early evening the soaking wet soil and heavy wetness on the branches made the tree fall. So sad. My husband went out last night and started chopping it up so that we can try to salvage the bushes it fell on. The wood inside the tree is pink...no wonder I like that tree so much!

We plan to plant another Red Japanese Maple in its place, but we can't afford to buy a fully mature tree (as this one was) so it will be many years before the tree we plant is as gorgeous as this one was. Sad.




All of this rain is, however, great for my little vegetable garden! Look at those plants grow--I even have some itty bitty green tomatoes! The little sprouts you see are lettuce and they will be thinned when the plants are a couple of inches tall. Everything is growing beautifully except the carrots. Those are not sprouting at all. I thought those were supposed to be easy to grow! (Oh, and in case you are wondering...no, I haven't finished nailing the pickets around the garden box yet. And yes, there was a bunny sitting next to the garden box the other day. Uh oh.)