The Celtic Lore is full of what happens when you cross the Fae.
Here’s a great representation of one of those stories by a greatly respected Irish seanchaí, Eddie Lenihan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48qgmOzQCUg
Now the Fae love their trees. And for some reason they will imprint on one of more of them.
They are big fans of Ash trees.
https://www.treehugger.com/common-north-american-ash-trees-1341846
“Fairy trees in Ireland are typically Hawthorn or Ash trees.”
I believe that The Old Man and his offspring, here on Casa Claire, including The Ladies, are some North American variety of Ash trees. Or a close derivative.
Which are most easily identified as follows: “The leaves are described as ‘opposite, pinnately compound,’ meaning they’re divided into smaller leaflets on either side of a central stalk.” Such are the leaves on The Old Man and his offspring.
And since they work off a complex underground root network, they continue to sprout throughout the front property of Casa Claire, usually in copse clusters. Like the one that now shields the Pool and its bench.
Since I believe, given the deadly heat and deleterious effect of too much of that high altitude sunshine we get here in NoCo, you cannot have too many trees for shade and replenishment of the thin oxygen we get at this high altitude.
Turns out Claire and Honey like to forage on their leaves and scratch themselves on their limbs.
So, I let them grow.
In June, while I was cutting the grass in the front gulley that catches the rain and snow run off from the street, and really serves no other purpose than a DMZ between the public and private property, I noticed that some of the Ash sprouts were appearing along the street edge of the roadway.
Given that they appeared to be growing in a straight line along the roadway edge, and rather rapidly, I recognized that there were supernatural influences at work, and that the Fae that have been so wonderfully protective of my property over the years, must be behind this extension of the Casa Claire tree line.
Anyway, here in Berthoud Estates we have an HOA. Thankfully, historically, the Board has been a rather nicely run group of people who I have only had to interact with over the residing of the house and the replacement of my outer deck.
They are very nice people. As are most of the neighbors.
However, they don’t handle the day-to-day work of the HOA, they contract it out to management companies. We’ve had a number of them since my arrival. My only interaction with them has been paying my monthly HOA fees, and I am a stickler for paying on time.
Anyway, you can imagine my surprise yesterday, when I received the following email from sad HOA:
“Dear Mr. McCaffrey,
I am reaching out on behalf of the Berthoud Estates Homeowners Association concerning several volunteer elm trees that appear to be growing in the ditch in front of your home. The board would like to request that you remove or have them removed.
Reasons are two-fold:
- They are growing in the county right-of-way.
- More importantly, the roads within BEHA are aging, and the board is currently in the process of having them assessed to see how soon they might need to be replaced and at what cost. Maintaining their condition for as long as possible to create time to prepare for such a significant cost is a priority for the board, and they are concerned that trees like that growing so close to the road will eventually create premature negative impacts to the condition of the road once the roots start spreading.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. The board is hosting a meeting on Aug. 7, and you would be welcome to join the Zoom to discuss with the board.
Sincerely,”
Now, the fact that the trees have been misidentified tells me that this was a hearsay report by some over interested passer by that most likely is a relatively new arrival at BE and hasn’t made an effort to get to know me. Otherwise they would have driven down my driveway and knocked on my door to ask about the tree sprouts.
Instead, they grassed me out to the HOA Board. Not cool. But such is the world we live in.
But I am a good neighbor who just wants to be left alone with my natural and supernatural creatures on Casa Claire, so rather than object, I grabbed my shears and my lawn mower and went out front to remediate the issue.
However, before I touched a single one of the saplings, I showed them, and their Fae constituents, the email, and explained as I did the importance of maintaining the appropriate level of bonhomme with my neighbors. To say the Fae were upset would be an understatement, however, they allowed me to remain an accepted member of human society, and withdrew their forces to the other trees within my fence line.
But they gave me my dispensation.
A few hours later the sprouts were gone and the front of the Casa Claire property again conformed to societal norms.
I then went inside and wrote the following to the HOA Management Company.
“It’s done. Please thank whomever bought it to your attention.”
And having shared the email with the Fae, I will leave it to them to return the earth to balance.
But as there is always work to be done, I have plenty on this morning’s plate, beginning with the fortnightly Recycling, which must now be moved to the roadside. Then my rounds. So I better get on it.
You fine, five readers start your engines, and wrap your work weeks before COB this fine Thursday. Friday awaits with open arms.
Oh, and thank you for your well wishes about Lisa and my anniversary. We greatly appreciate it.
And whatever else we may get up to, let us make today a great one.
2 Responses
I note again that there appear to be much larger (& rooted) trees along this roadside stretch. Some Karen has it in for you?
I’ve never done well with Karens. Indeed, I have only one Karen friend, who I have called Cruiser my entire life. Indeed, she is a character in the early Van Cortlandt Park section of FJM. But I’m going to assume that this was a one off and that the matter will be dealt with by the Fae, who have never let me down.