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Trees - Yesterday we had five decent sized trees planted amidst our lawn. I joked later that Michelle ought to name them after each of our children. Planting these trees is a feeble attempt to regain some limited amount of shade for our lawn. Certainly it'll take years but you have to start sometime. The sad irony is that this used to be a wooded lot. The original developer got too aggressive in clearing the lot. He probably cleared enough trees to keep the house warm for several years. Now we're paying good money to bring some back.

All five trees are different. Two are known for their brilliance during the autumn color change and I think the others are more known for their flowers in spring. For autumn we have a traditional Sugar Maple and one I'd never heard of called a Black Tupelo. The other three are a Sargent Cherry, a Flowering Dogwood, and a hybrid of the popular Bradford Pear. I believe it is a Cleveland Pear. I guess the Bradford variety of pear has troubles with wind and ice damage (it could literally split in half) so the Cleveland variety is bred to have a slightly different shape and ability to handle this. I guess you could shout "Cleveland Rocks!", eh? (a little Drew Carey Show reference...)

Overall they should be nice additions and help break up the (ahem) "huge tracts of land" that is our yard. It is so open and exposed to the sun that the grass burns out every July from getting so much direct sun and heat. The landscaper comes back today to finish up his work, basically applying mulch around the trees' beds and cleanup. It's no surprise to me that there are several good sized rocks next to each tree bed. He came across these as he dug the holes.

<sarcasm>Large rocks? In our New Hampshire soil? I would never have guessed!</sarcasm>

Clarinet - Claire has shown an interest in playing Michelle's clarinet in the school band. Michelle dusted off her clarinet (figuratively speaking) to make sure everything was there and working reasonably. Tuesday I took it to Herbert's Music in Manchester for an overhaul. That typically consists of a cleaning, minor repairs, changing the pads, re-corking, polishing the keys, and an oiling of the wood. It's a bit pricey, but they thought that since it was not a cheapo clarinet, it's worth it. I figured since it was a bit of an heirloom, why not? It should be done by the middle of next week. When I pick it up, I also need to buy it a new case. The old one looks like it might come open unexpectedly and spill all its contents.