Backyard Tenant

I was hacking back the branches on one of the trees, when I spotted this:

While trying to get to a better angle for a better picture, the bird got all agitated at me and flew away. So of course, I climbed the tree to take a look in the nest:

The bird dive bombed me a few times while I was in the tree looking at the nest. Here she is:

Don't worry, though. She stopped trying to attack me and finally returned to her nest:

Backyard Trees Continued

In defense of the backyard, there are some nice living trees back there.
Like this guy:

I think I need to trim some of the lower branches, and it's starting to reach out over the fence. I wish it were on the west side of the yard, though, so we could have some evening shade... Perhaps I should not complain. It is, after all, a living tree.

Then there's this one:

It would be a really nice tree, had it not been planted DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH a power line. (You might be able to make out the line running through the tree in the picture, almost 1/2 of the way down from the top of the pic.) Also, it's lots of fun to trim the branches that rub on the roof. Perhaps they put the tree there to shade the master bedroom window, though, which would be a very good idea if the bedroom weren't on the north side of the house.

And finally, I present this one:

???

Backyard Trees

Our backyard has not one,

not two,

but three dead trees.

Obviously, the previous owners were arborists. There is evidence of another dead tree, too. Mr. & Mrs. Previous Owners cut that one down for us, though. Plus, there are countless dead potted plants and bushes. Yippie.

Anyway, there must be something I can do to make at least one of the dead trees useful for a while. So I present to you...

Tomato Tree!

Yes. I bought a topsy turvy tomato planter. If it works well, I may attempt to re-create the incredibly complex design myself next year. Meanwhile, I think I may get a couple more tomato plants, put them at the base of the tree, and stake them up the trunk. We'll see how that works out...