The Tree Justin Grew Himself

Three years ago, shortly after we moved into this house, we had a large delivery of mulch.

The mulch pile shortly after delivery in November 2010

It diminished fairly quickly at first and then more slowly as it got spread around Justin's playground and our garden. For quite a while, though, there was a sizable pile. At some point during this pile's life, Justin was on a hike (with us, I'm sure) and picked up some acorns. He had just learned that oak trees grow from acorns. He was determined to plant those acorns so he could have his own oak tree. I remember groaning silently to myself, because I knew the chances of successful germination and sprouting were slim to none. Nevertheless, he brought them home and asked where he could plant them. Most of our yard is rocky clay. I was scanning the yard (I'm sure you can see where this is going) and my eye stopped on the mulch pile. "Plant your acorns there!" I said. And he did.

Lo and behold, two of the acorns sprouted and grew!

This is the biggest one today. It is taller than Justin!

Justin's oak tree today, started from an acorn in 2011