Rey's A Point

The Battle of Dogwood Tree or Robin-Home Defense

June 1863: General Robert E. Lee, upon receiving news that Federal forces were in Frederick (Maryland), ordered the Confederate Army to come down from Blue Ridge Mountains to meet the Feds in battle. On June 30th, Lee’s recon forces discover that Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) is already occupied by Brigadier General John Buford’s cavalry, dismounted, frightened, resolved and entrenched. 143 years later the battle between the Robins and myself, like Gettysburg, happened completely by accident.

I have long known about the Robin nest in the Dogwood Tree on my front lawn. Whenever my mower passes by they get frantic, chirping pointedly yet incoherently. I have taken to alerting them of my mowing with soft words the night before doing any lawn work–even though they completely ignore me. Last night was no different, me whispering, “it’s going to be fine tomorrow, I need to get under there and cut that high grass.”

Rey

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14 responses to “The Battle of Dogwood Tree or Robin-Home Defense”

  1. The best part of the story was when you finally admitted to being an inch shorter than me. ;)

    Terrifying story that couldn’t possibly have a happy ending. Glad it seems to, so far. It takes a village of Robins(and sometimes a human) to raise a child, eh? Hopefully they still feed it…I’ve heard once they have human scent they’re rejected, but you used your hat and a piece of paper and not your bare hands, so maybe it will be ok.

    How wide are the tree branches, and does your lawn currently go right to the trunk, or is there some space around it? It might be a good idea to put a border around the tree, maybe 1-2 feet around, separated from the lawn by rocks or stonework or seashells. Get rid of the grass around the tree within this barrier and make it a flower bed or simply soil. Rounded stonework is best for mowing I find–my mom has one around her red maple and it’s a great guide when I cut the grass around there. On the other hand, she has other sections lined with seashells, including the area by our dogwood. It looks pretty and all, but it makes edging difficult and I’ve occasionally destroyed seashells by crossing the barrier with the mower, looking to make sure no one saw me, then respacing the surviving shells to fill the gap. In your case the round concrete divider is probably the best solution, unless it’s a really wide tree.

  3. Classic. Nothing funnier than being attacked by robins defending their turf! I can’t wait to see pictures. I loved the “Oy!” part! Very funny.

    I thought you lived in NY for some reason.

  4. Yeah Wendy, I used to live in NY but then moved to the Rural. And thanks to Jerry revealing where in the rural I can now expect to be killed where no one will find my body. :)

    MCF, I’m still taller than you. Even when I can’t remember my exact height. And the lawn comes right up to about 1.5″ from the tree trunk. I can’t lay down that much mulch beneath the spreading branches because, like you said, it is very wide and it’ll make my lawn look like the desolate waste of Oroduin.

    Re: Baby Bird Rescue, most birds don’t have a sense of smell so putting the thing back in a nest or bush is usually fine with most of birds.

  6. CLASSIC Tato storytelling. I love how you recruited young Sy to be a young cadet in this Battle w/ the Birds. Bravo dear brother and by all means, award that loving nephew of mine a medal!

  7. Yvong, I was hoping you’d like the Civil War Ref. I’m also sure you’d probaby correct my history being a Civil War buf and all.

  8. first: holy crap dude, you, like, live in a park! i can’t believe how big and beautiful your “backyard” is!

    second: freaky beetles, horrible sickness, insane dancing children, herds of attacking robins… just keep up the happy endings, ok?

  9. Oh my, that was just too funny!! How sweet of you to take such care though ;). I really enjoyed it, I’m visiting from the Christian Carnival ;).