elms

When I was leaving to walk to Rolandale, there was a young man
digging up the soil around the base of the elm in front of the house.
I asked him what he was doing--he had machines, tanks, tubing, a
drill, and he said he was treating our American Elm against Dutch elm
disease. He said the city has hired him to do it every three years.
The also treat the ashes every year. I know this because I asked. I
was concerned about the ash on Rolandale. That's Detroit, though, not
GPF.

He's giving "our" elm 40 GALLONS of treatment.
I asked whether or not a treatment was likely to save our ash, and he
said it depended on how much had already died. If a lot of the top
has died, it is likely to be too far along to save. I'm going to study
it when I get there. I'd like it to live. However, it seems unlikely
that the city will pay for it, and if it's every year that it needs
treatment, if it's expensive and unlikely to help, we may have to cut
our losses and let it go.

I told that guy I went to Forestry school and I'm sure he looked at me askance.

The elms in this picture are growing at the Edsel and Eleanor
Ford House. Ours is probably as big or bigger.