There are signs of spring hiding in the dirt all around! These are some sprouts from a neighbor's bulbs just starting to peep out of the finally snow-free soil.
Ever optimistic, I ran to my tree to see if there were some sprouts or grass shoots or anything even the remotest bit green around the base of my tree.
Nope. But looking down, I started thinking about the roots. After a tinsy bit of research, I discovered that a tree's roots will extend out far wider than the crown above. To think that all that is down under the sidewalk!
So that's why you sometimes see tree roots coming up above the ground. They're not that deep anyway! I checked the sidewalk cutout around our poor, unfortunate tree on the other side of the house, Bud. No sprouts, but there are some visible roots.
And after parking in our driveway the other day, I noticed these incredibly long visible roots.
These roots are not even coming from that first tree at the end of the wooden fence. There is another, even larger tree obscured behind it which is the source of all these roots. They're amazing! I feel like it can't be too good for the tree though. Aren't these supposed to be underground? Can they still bring nutrients to the tree like this? Doesn't the air dry them out too much? What if someone steps on them, drives on them, or, sorry Bud, runs the stroller over them about a thousand times?
