We lost two neighbors today. They were two large old cherry trees that stood over our back fence. I've sworn at those trees many times when the birds dropped their messy fruit all over my yard. The neighbor has tried to contain the trees over the years by pruning, but that only served to make them rather grotesque in shape.

Then last year I noticed a pair of hummingbirds who liked to sit in the top of the trees. They would preen themselves and dry off after they'd had a bath in a local birdbath or pond. This year, they've greeted me everyday when I go outside to do some task or other singing from the top branch of the tree. But no more.

It's ironic how something as small as a hummingbird could change my whole outlook on those darn trees. Today, I've been sad as they sawed away at the trees, one piece at a time. To console myself, I've been working on the chicken run for our new chickens and thinking about the new fruit trees I've ordered to add to our backyard. It will be years before they reach any kind of real size and they will never be as large as the cherry trees. But somehow, hopefully, they will fill the gap left in our backyard, the sky and the bird habitat.