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The Cherry Tree

“What kind of tree is that?”

I was looking at the large tree that dominated the back yard. We were viewing the house for the first time, it was past 7pm, and I couldn’t really make out what it was in the dark. All I knew is that it was big.

Iris moved in beside me, “I think the listing said its a Cherry Tree.”

It bloomed just over two months later, shortly after we had moved in. Iris was away in Vancouver for school so she missed the Day of the Vibrating Tree. There were so many  bees busy doing bee things that the entire back yard was buzzing. It was quite beautiful, the blossoms giving the tree a soft white cover. Almost like fresh snow.

By early June we realized how big the tree was. Rapidly growing cherries covered every branch right to the top. The top that was level with the roof of the house. Lower branches drooped under the weight, blocking access to part of our garden. We took to watering the tree directly, hoping to make the cherries fatter.

Canada Day was the first day of picking. We had friends over with two large coolers and filled them both over the course of an afternoon. Looking back at the tree was deceiving; you couldn’t tell that we picked a single one. We borrowed an 8′ ladder and over the next few weeks we had as many people picking as possible, but it was still apparent that we would have a lot of wastage.

August hit with it’s typical Kelowna heat. Bird’s were taking advantage of the unreachable top of the tree and half eaten cherries fell to the ground all through the month. The smell of rotting cherries was almost unbearable and on one Sunday we found ourselves our hands and knees picking them off the ground. Later in the month I vacuumed my yard to try and remove them.

Vacuumed. My. Yard.

The tree had to go.

And naturally I recorded it.

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