Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
I've been following this and was unsure what planet it was from until just now. I watched in amazement as a great deal of work was done to make a giant asshole into a Special, deluxe Giant Asshole. All the while I was thinking, "This is going to enshrine this black mark on this tree forever. Forever."
Every feature of every tree becomes a part of the whole. Good parts overshadow the lesser parts, and really prominent features that are less than appealing are either hidden completely or ruin everything else that could be favorable. There are a few ugly things that can become "The Feature" on a tree, like a lighting strike at the apex, but they are really difficult to carry out. The sooner that the owner separates the wheat from the chaff, the better. Here, the wheat is tossed aside and the chaff is served up in a fancy bowl with bananas and half & half. Lipstick on a pig.
Too many pretty good trees occupy our time for years and years and then as we learn that their faults can't be hidden, we abandon them for better stock and the process continues. There are lots of bad things that can and will and do happen to trees, so even pretty good trees get wounded by bad luck along the way by bugs and storms and squirrels, birds, drought, fungi, and of course, us. But when you start with a scarred reject, your future is guaranteed.
Learning to chose wisely is more than half the game. The same amount of time and effort spent on good stock would have paid off, someday. Or I should say, might have had a better chance at paying off well. If we treat every tree we own as having the destination of being in a Show, we'll be lucky if one out of ten make it. Time is precious and cannot be replaced.
Every feature of every tree becomes a part of the whole. Good parts overshadow the lesser parts, and really prominent features that are less than appealing are either hidden completely or ruin everything else that could be favorable. There are a few ugly things that can become "The Feature" on a tree, like a lighting strike at the apex, but they are really difficult to carry out. The sooner that the owner separates the wheat from the chaff, the better. Here, the wheat is tossed aside and the chaff is served up in a fancy bowl with bananas and half & half. Lipstick on a pig.
Too many pretty good trees occupy our time for years and years and then as we learn that their faults can't be hidden, we abandon them for better stock and the process continues. There are lots of bad things that can and will and do happen to trees, so even pretty good trees get wounded by bad luck along the way by bugs and storms and squirrels, birds, drought, fungi, and of course, us. But when you start with a scarred reject, your future is guaranteed.
Learning to chose wisely is more than half the game. The same amount of time and effort spent on good stock would have paid off, someday. Or I should say, might have had a better chance at paying off well. If we treat every tree we own as having the destination of being in a Show, we'll be lucky if one out of ten make it. Time is precious and cannot be replaced.
