Good-bye to the Beech Tree

If you have been here, you may remember that in the yard between our house and Nana's is this huge beech tree.  It is enormous- even taller than our house.  Unfortunately, the tree was diseased and large branches and limbs were starting to fall into the yard.  An arborist said that it just had to come down, or it would just keep dropping dangerously heavy branches until it completely died.  It was sad to see it go, and it was a pretty big operation to get it out!  The guys from the tree service definitely knew what they were doing, but it was nerve-wracking to watch.  Because the tree was between the two houses, and because it is down a hill, they had to park this huge crane in the driveway and then swing the arm of it into the back yard.  The guys in the tree would cut a section, fasten it to the crane, and then the crane operator would swing the section over the roof of our house into the driveway.  Our house is three stories high in the front, and four stories in the back (because of the hill), so you can imagine how high in the air we are talking, here!

Finally, they chopped the trunk of it down and it made a huge thud as it hit the ground.  It was so heavy that it left a huge hole in the ground, as well as a big dent in the small brick patio underneath.  Our favorite superheroes were pretty amazed with this process, as you might imagine.  The yard looks very different now and we will definitely miss the shade that the tree provided us!

Parlee Farms with the Fam

On a beautiful day in September, we spent the morning at one of our favorite local places- Parlee Farms.  This is the same place where Mairead had her field trip, but we love it there so we had no problem going again!  The kids have a blast and adults love the farm stand and country kitchen.  They have awesome cider donuts and lots of other treats.  We have been able to get the kids together with their cousins a lot lately, and we are really happy about that.  It's fun to see them grow up together.  And, Jen and Mike were able to come, too, and any adventure is better when your fun aunt and uncle can come!

 

Lily is a bit obsessed with Mike, so at one point, she ran toward him, squealing with excitement. An older woman nearby said, "Oh, isn't that sweet!"  I said, "And that's not even her dad, it's her uncle!"

After checking out the animal barns and feeding the goats and chickens, the kids took rides on these little mini-tractors.  They are really cute and perfect for little ones.  They also have a big fence to climb, and the boys had a great time with that.  There was a lot of running, squealing, yelling, and eating that morning.  It was such a nice fall activity with the family.  I'm just sad that we are likely running out of days to be outside, so we are trying to make the most of what we have left!