Mulberry Melancholy

This time every year, our driveway gets just wrecked due to all the berries dropping from the nearby Mulberry tree. It starts slowly with a few berries here and there… but it eventually turns into this godawful mess.

The tree actually resides on the parkway on our neighbor’s side.

To make things worse, as people walk by… they crush the berries and end up staining the sidewalk for a good distance around our driveway. At this time each year, it gets so that I have to be super careful about taking my shoes off immediately after walking inside, for fear of tracking crushed berries everywhere and staining the inside.

I kid you not – it’s bad. Walking around here, it’s like sliding around on a layer of jam. It’s actually quite slick!

The good news is that our alderman has been notified of this, and there is action slated to be taken. Our neighbors Bernie and Carol Jean have lived with this tree for decades (decades!) and recently circulated a written plea – getting other neighbors on the street to ask the city to cut the tree down.

The Mines (the tree resides on their parkway) have also agreed to allow this to happen, since it’s technically on their property. Though more technically, it’s the city’s property.

Needless to say, Bernie and Carol Jean (and many others) are excited for this tree to go. I’m not a fan of cutting down trees, despite the fact that several trees have been removed from around our property. But this guy really is a problem, and really needs to go.

Paperwork has been cleared with the city, so it’s just a matter of time. We were hoping they might remove the tree before the berries arrived, but that ship’s sailed. Now we’re all just hoping it gets removed at some time before the year ends.

I’ve joked to Bernie and Carol Jean that, when the city shows up to take this guy down… Liz and I would take the day off work, break out some lawn chairs, mix up some cocktails, and sit with them and watch the whole process.

Related:
A Plea for a Tree
The Tree Has Left the Building
Backyard Tree Removal: Before and After Photos