The Tale of Two Trees

Two Bottle Brush Trees that is!   I looked out this morning and admired how quickly some of the Bottle Brush buds (try saying that fast!) had become flowers and then I noticed it. One tree was full of flowers while the other only had one or two.  "What could be the reason?" I thought.  So when I went to watch my dog, Ginger in the back yard I went and examined the tree.  Upon closer inspection, I discovered that that one that had few flowers also had a parasidic air plant attached to it branches.  Sadly, each branch that had two or more of these parasites had withered or died! Other sturdier trees in my yard had these plants and I had thought nothing of it.  Unfortunately for the Bottle Brush trees it meant certain death.  Immediately I struck to the task of ridding the tree from this deadly plague.  Quite a few of the branches had to be sacrificed and others were still alive and I picked the critters off by hand.  Some were as small as a dime and while others were the size of a hand.   A trash can later, I think I got most of them, but assuradly I will have to keep an eye out for them because if you really want to know, I like my Bottle Brush flowers and no pesky air plant is going to keep me from them!

Good day to you!