Chinaberry Tree

Chinaberry Tree in December

It's still raining here.  The ground is so sodden now that we are seriously concerned about erosion.  The Chinaberry tree is our bellwether--it clings to the edge of the canyon, and as long as it's there we know most of our yard is still there.  The canyon drops away so steeply that its roots are being steadily undermined, and some day it may go.  We get up and check to see if the tree's still there whenever we've had a lot of rain.

It's the tree in the background of this picture.  I deliberately shot it this way so we can have a marker, in the form of the white patio roof post, to check on whether the tree is still upright or if it's leaning more to the right and beginning to slide into the canyon.  The canyon drops away abruptly just to the right of the tree and just behind the boxwood hedge.

It's a great old tree.  It's clearly been around a long time.  A much larger branch evidently cracked off of the left hand side some years ago, but the tree keeps on thriving.  It's a survivor and we hope we can save it.

Chinaberry Tree in September