Beauty and the Weed

I took this picture of my little dawyck purple beech on April 28. I love how the new leaves are so fuzzy. It makes me wonder if the tiny hairs on the ends of the leaves serve as some protection from a predator, some bug that can’t get a grip. In any case, I love looking at her spring leaves because they are so delicate and beautiful. And I’m happy she made it through the winter, and so far survived the predator that got my gingkoes.

The beech sits in a little pot underneath the kitchen window. I’ve been blogging about her progress ever since she arrived in the mail back on May 6th last year. And *gasp!* the other day, I was sitting in the computer room when Mike knocked on the window holding up the pot. “What is this?” he said.

Remembering my ill-fated gingkoes, I jumped up from my chair and with a pained look said, “That’s my beech tree!”

“What should I do with it?” he shouted through the glass.

Um, lemme see, “How ’bout you put her back underneath the kitchen window?”

She still looks like a weed to him.