Rolling a Tree

We have a great palm tree in our backyard.  Great because it’s a great tree, and great because I grew up in a place where we didn’t have palm trees.  So NOOO!!! is my answer when anyone says we should just get rid of it because it will be in the way of the deck stairs. 

(Existing palm tree location)

We decide to transplant it.  Eli digs and digs and digs.  And digs and digs and digs. Every once in awhile I give a shout out from my indoor electrical projects and checking on Little Dude to see how Eli (and the tree) are doing. I don’t know how many hours of digging Eli did.  I just know it was A LOT of hours of digging.

(Digging)

(More digging)

(New hole it will go in)

(You find weird things like buried red panty hose when you dig in an old yard?)

Finally, I’m asked to come help.  We tug and push and see-saw the thing away from its own root system until – AH-HA – it’s down! 

(Timber!)

(Timber!!)

(Tough roots)

Now time to lift it out of its old hole and into its new one.  1-2-3-LIFT.  Nothing.  Okay, really…1-2-3-LIIIIIIFT!  Nothing.  Won’t budge.  What happens next is what Eli has described to a few people as “kca getting into that yoga/harnessing qi mode.”  For me, it was just like “this tree has to move and it has to move now.  So here goes all I’ve got.”  I squatted down, wrapped myself around the 3-foot-diameter palm tree root-ball, and did an internal 1-2-3-LIFT.  And lifted it out of its hole! 

(It’s out)

1-2-3-LIFT wasn’t any easier to carry it over to its new spot, so we proceeded to roll the palm tree across the entire yard.  1-2-3-ROLL…the shift the direction of the roll…another 1-2-3-ROLL…shift again…you get the idea.  The path is clear for the deck stairs, and the tree has a new home where it really does look nice.  Hopefully it’ll live after all that.

(Its new spot)