Dead wood.

Well, here we are, the first day of autumn, the autumnal equinox. Surely "equinox" is the coolest word for astronomical events on the calendar.

On Saturday I had a job to do that I'd been avoiding all summer.

When we moved into the house, bright young things full of hope that we were, there was a new tree planted in the front yard. It died. I replaced it the following year with a dogwood. That died. I replaced that the following year with a thundercloud plum. That has survived.

The thundercloud plum is a pretty tree with small leaves that start the season pink and turn a dark purple. It's looked so good on the front lawn every spring and summer, and I say to myself with no little pride, I planted that. I, city boy, from a borough where people cut down the trees and put up umbrellas, I planted that tree and it didn't die. And every year it makes me smile.

Last year, late in the summer, though, I noticed that it looked kind of thin.

Sure enough, some major branches had no leaves. The rest of the tree looked good, but those limbs were dead. Small bits snapped right off. These were mighty branches in the center of the tree, and they were dead as doornails.

I was going to have to prune.

I put it off all year, but as we approached autumn I knew I would have to take action. Once the leaves had fallen it would be tough to tell the dead from the living. But cutting off the dead limbs was going to leave a big hole in the middle of the tree, like a guy going bald from the part. And I didn't have the right kind of saw for the job, just hacksaws and a big crosscut saw and a circular saw. Last Friday I stopped in Home Depot for something else, saw the saws, and knew the time had come.

Saturday, the ax fell. Well, not the ax, but you know what I mean.

From plum to prune.

I hope it bounces back in the spring. From what I'd read, pruning was the only hope to prevent termites, promote health in live limbs, and preserve the structural integrity of the tree. I guess we'll find out in eight months how it went.

And that brings us to Life Lessons with Grandpa Fred: Autumn is not a time of new beginnings, like New Year's and spring. Autumn is rather a time of old beginnings, which makes no sense, but stay with me. Our lives, like our trees, may require some pruning to keep healthy. Too much junk in the house? Get rid of it. Bad relationships? Walk away. Unsightly blemish? Ooh, better see a dermatologist. It's all part of living, and a sad part, yes, but we can be stronger and healthier if we face what's causing trouble and remove it.

That's all for this episode of Wise Words from a Suburban Gentleman. Tomorrow we'll be back to our regular stupidity.