Sunday, March 4, 2018

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. Mattie received special box seats at the Verizon Center to see the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey circus. This was Mattie's first and last time seeing the circus. It was a very special treat to have a whole box to ourselves and that way I did not have to worry about germs all around Mattie, given his compromised immunity. Mattie had a fun time, got all sorts of circus gear, and even saw his best buddy, Brandon (a cancer survivor) at the circus. It was a memorable moment, and all of the items we bought for Mattie that day are still on display in his bedroom. 



Quote of the day: Kindness can transform someone's dark moment with a blaze of light. ~ Amy Leigh Mercree

You maybe asking yourself.... what is this a photo of? Well today, Peter and I went to Mattie's school to see the damage to his memorial tree for ourselves. You would have to enlarge this image, but I took it because a lot was going on by Mattie's tree when we arrived on campus. There were 30 Dominion power people on campus to manage the fallen electrical wires. Wires which came down with the falling of several big tree branches. The limbs from this big tree fell onto Mattie's memorial tree and several pieces of playground equipment. In fact, one of the playground pieces used to stand directly behind Mattie's tree. You can't see if anymore because it was completely destroyed. But if you look at the big tree on the left, covered with ivy, you will see a man sitting in the tree. He had to be 60 feet or more in the air, and he was cutting down this damaged tree, branch by branch. It was a sight to watch. 

This was a big chipper, as tree limbs were cut into manageable pieces, they were chewed up in this machine. 

Peter and I had the opportunity to meet Tim Boyd today. We have met Tim on several other occasions but we did not know how familiar he was with our story until today. Tim is an arborist and outside contractor for the school. I knew the school consulted with an arborist regarding the health of Mattie's trees throughout the years, but what I did not know is it is Tim who has donated Mattie's tree to the school. I assumed the school paid for the tree all along. I was wrong. Tim is planning on making yet another tree donation to replace this damaged tree.  

We are deeply indebted to Tim for understanding the importance of the tree. He got it right away that Mattie's tree needed to be replaced. As clearly took a major blow in the storm and with all its damage it could easily get infected now. Peter and I both felt at ease talking to Tim, and we truly appreciated his understanding and compassion regarding losing Mattie. He gave me a big hug and told us he is a father and grandfather. Though saving trees is his business, he is aware of the fact that some things are bigger than the tree itself. All of Tim's crew were very respectful of Mattie's tree, especially while working around it to get at the bigger tree. In this photo you can see one of Tim's crew members collecting all the items that were salvageable from Mattie's tree. We had all sorts of ornaments on the tree and the majority of them went airborne and can't be found. But the ones that remained we collected and took home with us, along with Mattie's memorial tree plaque. 

Tim told us about Sawtooth Oak trees (pictured here), as I shared with him how much Mattie loved oak trees and particularly collecting acorns. Mattie's original red oak that was planted in 2010, died from a root infection. Since that time we were counselled away from oaks. But Tim says the Sawtooth Oak is hardy, grows quickly and is will be a much bigger tree than a Yellowwood could ever be. The Sawtooth is an Asian species of oak native to China, Korea, Japan, Indochina (Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia) and the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, northeastern India). It is widely planted and has become naturalized in parts of North America.

The Sawtooth Oak is typically planted  for wildlife food provision, as the species tends to bear heavier crops of acorns than other native American oak species. How do you like this cute little cap on top of the acorn? I think Mattie would have gotten a kick out of this!

But the tree leaf looks spiky, quite different from an American oak. So we are deciding what to plant, but the good news is a new tree will be planted in Mattie's memory, thanks to Tim.