By Gail Jacobs

Fall is a beautiful season with all the colors and smells, a time to slow our mad rush and take in the scenery.

After arguing with my allergies last fall through winter I wonder about the wisdom of all of the trees on our property.  My doctor said in his neighborhood everyone burned leaves causing him misery to the point that he just moved away.   I do not want to move and to cut them down would be a huge expense.  Trees bring so much to our lives it would be a shame not have their beauty.  Many people complain about the gutters getting full of tree debris, tree roots that bounce them while mowing, leaves that need disposed of, branches that need trimmed and the negative list goes on and on.  If we would do a little homework before randomly plopping a tree in the yard many problems would be solved before they start.

Mistake 1 planting to close.  Years ago, we built our home in the middle of an empty farmer’s field and after mowing the field for a bit it seemed to need some trees.   Being young and with a shortage of funds we bought bulk seedlings from the state.  Red pine seedlings about 6 inches tall all in a row along the north boundary of our property hoping that one day they would be a grand wind break to save on energy costs.   I do not recall how many we planted that first year maybe 50.  Did I say they were small?  Being so small we had a tendency to plant them to close together.   By planting trees close together, they can develop disease.  Trees need to be stressed by the weather to strengthen the branches, to grow strong.    Planting close seemed right at the time but looking at them now I wonder how pretty they would have been if they were properly spaced.

Mistake 2 poor plant selection.  The first year we planted red pines so the next year we wanted to plant more red pines but the state ran out of the red so we got white pines instead.  We proceeded to plant them the same way as last year.   It is true that white pines can make a good windbreak but no one said how brittle they are add being to close just makes the problem worse.

Mistake 3 planting trees for no reason.  When we bought the pines, there was an offer of deciduous trees that we could not refuse to buy.  If I remember correctly, we got several trees of each Red bud, Indiana Tulip, River Birch and Russian olive.

Mistake 4 no plan.  With no plan, planting all of those little trees was not bad just walk around in what was once a field dig a hole and bury the little stick and hope you didn’t mow it over but if you did there were plenty more.

Allergies should certainly limit my outside time of leaf raking and lawn mowing but I have a hard time staying inside.  Those days that have blue skies, the bright fall colors and the crisp sounds of wind blowing through the trees make me risk the outside every time.  My doctor told me to pay someone to do the fall yard work for me.  He also suggested I wear a mask while doing yard work but I am thinking it is not worth the trouble!  I have begun the sinus spray and the 24-hour allergy med plus I have upped the vitamins hoping that will ward off all that nasty pollen.  This year I may consider finding a yard service but at this writing, I have not even started looking!

Get out there and enjoy the season!