Friday 15 October 2010

Noticing things

Sometimes I wonder how much other people notice. They don't seem to comment and OH isn't really focused on the same things. I wonder how many people have noticed the deadly nightshade growing next to the shop formally known as chemist? Probably not many or someone round here would probably have tried to smoke it. We picked up pretty quickly that the bees flying around our garden had taken residence in the chimney in May which is pretty early (if I understand correctly) for a swarm. Her three doors down didn't realise until September that she had four wasps nests in her cavity wall.

Well, what I have noticed is that the branches of the hawthorns, elderberries and rowans are being pulled down by the weight of their berries. A cold winter no doubt this year. And someone else has noticed these as all the apples from the apple tree near the bus stop and the crab apples from near the school that were within picking reach have gone.

But what really sparked this off was when we came back from the part yesterday was seeing a house with a tiny front garden, around two or three feet deep - definitely no more - with a self seeded sycamore and rowan in. The branches were up against the window. It can't be rocket science to think that this is not a good thing, surely. And no matter what, surely they could have at least managed to pour boiling water on the seedlings. Even I have managed that in the past. Or at least get a carer or relative or friend or someone to look at getting trees that are growing into your foundations removed.

2 comments:

Ian said...

In my experience, some people ignore things because they don't believe they can do anything about them. And some people are, very sadly, are so isolated that they don't have anyone visiting.

Maybe the trees just became that job that the house owner just kept putting off and off, and the longer they left it the more it became a problem. We've all done it.

Wannabe Sybil said...

You're right. It just surprised me. That Landlord is letting a sycamore grow up one of the houses at the back of us, against the house wall - literally against, as in the trunk is less than two inches from the bricks. However I am not surprised at this. And you are right, it is easy to judge. It may be a short term let so it all becomes Someone Else's Problem. However I shall watch the progress of the tree with interest WS x