Dear Wigleaf,

I had to get up early to make sure the gate to the backyard was unlocked so the tree guy could see our olive tree. It's a fruitless olive that I planted six years ago when it was a spindly sapling. It hasn't thrived. The arborist said it's got a bacterial infection and that's what's causing the leaves to turn yellow and drop. Olives aren't supposed to lose their leaves. He also pointed to the scaly trunk and said that it's badly sunburned. I didn't know trees get sunburned. They spend all day, every day, in direct sunlight so I thought trees would have adapted by now to the effects of UV. It must have something to do with the leaves. Along with a place to stack chloroplasts, leaves are like tiny umbrellas that break up the sunlight. Our olive now tosses its yellow umbrellas on the ground. It must have forgotten just how strong the sunshine is here. Maybe it's suffering from amnesia too.
 
Very truly yours,

Cherie






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Read CHD's story, "Venn Diagram."

w i g · l e a F               10-29-09                                [home]