Thursday – A Little Personal – The Birthday Tree Arrives

~ John W. Howell

Twiggy and Lucy barking

“Lucy. Do you see what I see?”

“I do, Little One. Looks like a monster truck to me.”

“You are right. What the heck is it doing here?”

“Looks like they are going to plant the Boss’s  birthday tree.”

Tree crew at work

“It is about time. Do they know what they are doing?”

“Yup. Mom went out there and gave them their instructions.”

“Why are they digging so much. The hole was already done.”

“The tree needed to have the best side out. That means making a diagonal hole out of a square.”

Lucy and Twiggy

“Come see this, Lucy.”

“Coming.”

“It looks great, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does.”

“I have to wonder where those guys went.”

“Why? You think they’ll come back, Lucy?”

“You never know. Sometimes they do.”

“Why would they come back?”

“What if they dropped off the wrong tree.”

“You think Mom would allow that?”

“I suppose you are right. Looks like this may be here a while.”

“So we can relax and enjoy the tree?”

“I would say that is the perfect thing to do. After all, it marks the Boss’s eightieth birthday.”

“How much is that in dog years?”

“About eleven.”

“Woo wee. He’s got some mileage.”

“Keep that on the down-low, Little One.”

141 thoughts on “Thursday – A Little Personal – The Birthday Tree Arrives”

  2. What manner of tree is it, John? Not that I could think of planting anyting that size in my 540 sq ft back garden. I am planning a tricolour dwarf buddleia once the new patio is laid next month. Then I’ll have to train Robbie not to bump into it!

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  8. Hmmm… someone got you a great birthday tree! I wasn’t expecting one quite so large, but it’s a real beauty. It looks like a saucer (or Southern) magnolia. If it is, that thing is going to grow into a real shade provider.

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  10. Ya gotta love the girls – they tell it like it is!
    All the best with your tree, John. Magnolias are outstanding!!

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  13. Congratulations on your BIG birthday, John! (I’ll be hitting that milestone pretty soon, too.) I love your birthday tree! Did you know magnolias have been around since long before people? Fossils have been found from 20 million years ago! How cool to have one in your own backyard now! Can’t wait to see pictures of it in bloom, and I’m sure Twiggy and Lucy will have some delightful commentary when those flowers appear. Lovely post! 🙂 ❤

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  15. Betty Smith would approve of your choice. And a magnolia is a much better choice than a chinese sumac, aka tree of heaven. Now it is three fingers time. Cheers !

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  16. Some mileage, indeed, my friend. 🙂 Congrats on finally getting the tree. I had to chuckle at the typical work crew. Two doing the work, the others standing around. 🙂

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  17. I’m glad you are still celebrating your birthday, John. Applesauce! That magnolia is huge to plant. Just gorgeous. I hope you get lots of blossoms. I felt stunned when this post made me realize how long we’ve been blog buddies… nearly a decade. You’re still a bright star of my blog family. Hugs on the wing.

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  23. Congratulations, John, to your birthday (tree). That Magnolia is magnificent. I hope it will do well. We have a Magnolia as a birthday tree, too. We had it planted last year for Mary’s daughter’s 40th. For ourselves, we don’t plant birthday trees, but a Christmas tree for every year we have been living here.

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  25. Beautiful tree – I like that it is big enough for you to enjoy now and don’t have to wait around for it to grow. Producer did a great job of having it positioned just right! It is a great addition to that part of your yard. I like the low maintenance of your yard. Happy birthday to the Boss!

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  26. That’s a very nice birthday gift, John. It’s a beautiful tree. Good that Lucy and Twiggy are girls, I’d hate to see how a male dog would welcome it to the yard. I like the thought of you having some mileage, but I hope you still have plenty of miles to go. I’m laughing a bit at them having to dig a different style hole in order to get it just right. Someone powerful is in charge.

    Happy Birthday.

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        1. When we were dating we were fooling around and somehow the words ,”Go ahead give it your best shot,” came out of my mouth. She knocked me over withone punch to the arm. I never said that again.

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    1. Thanmks for the questions, Cynthia. It is a Southern Magnolia. It has to be watered every other day with at least 20 gallons of water. We have female dogs so they pretty much ignore the tree. 🤣

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  36. What a great present! Something that everyone can enjoy. Congratulations on making it to a new decade. Well done, John!

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  41. Happy Happy Birthday once again, John! What a gorgeous tree. I know Magnolias can be considered “messy,” but I love them — and this one looks to be in an ideal location. Before long, the girls will have a nice, shady spot to chill in.

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  46. The tree looks great … looks like it was always there! And 🎈Happy B-I-G 80!!! 🎈 But, wouldn’t you be 560 in dog years rather than 11? I always thought you multiplied by 7 … ???

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    1. In this case you would divide the human by 7 to get dog. If you wanted to know how many human years a dog has lived you multiply the dog by 7. If you want to know how many generations of dogs a human has lived you multiply the human years by 7 and then divide by life expectance of dog. Let’s say 12 years. In my case then 80 times 7 is 560. Divided by 12 equals 4.1 generations.

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