We Heart Our Oaks

The heat today reminds me of 1976. Our son was sent home from school because it was so hot. We had a swinging garden seat under a weeping willow and spent much of the summer under there. 

Unfortunately willows aren't long-lived trees and we had to have it felled a few years ago. This spring we noticed that an oak sapling was growing next to the stump amongst the elderberry that has established itself there too. This afternoon MrQ and I tackled the brambles looking for our oak tree. We found it but unfortunately didn't realise that it wasn't the only one. The other got scalped by the chainsaw, such a shame as it was beautifully green and strong. :(  It will be interesting to see which fares best. I've always been quite a fan of nipping the heads out of plants to give them a boost.