Yesterday Tree Guy lost his mouth. I noticed his missing smile last night when I let the dogs outside. I leaned over the deck, Tree Guy’s mouth lay on the ground in pieces, most likely KO’d by a squirrel.
Squirrels have been scurrying up and down Tree Guy’s trunk, busying themselves for winter. The Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a harsh winter for our area, designating it a “Hibernation Zone.” Sounds quaint, doesn’t it? Just eat a lot of food, then curl up for a long nap in a cozy place.
Tree Guy’s mouth won’t be repaired again. It’s in pieces and the back hanger is gone. I could probably find the metal loop, and my husband could fix the mouth—again, but it wouldn’t last because the interior substance is dry rotted. The shiny paint job on Tree Guy’s mouth is like an iridescent-paint job on an old car, covering copious amounts of Bondo—pretty to look at but not a long-term solution.
Losing his mouth has changed Tree Guy’s expression. While trying to determine if he looks contemplative or stern or forlorn, I’ve decided he looks mostly confused.
My husband and I agreed that while Tree Guy’s mouth won’t be fixed, we’ll leave him with his eyes and nose. He’ll still watch over the deck and smell his flower-basket earrings, but he won’t talk. Anyone wanting to know what he thinks will have to look into his eyes, windows to his inner sap. Tree Guy’s been part of our lives for over a decade, we’d rather lose him in bits than all at once.
I’ve pulled the nail from the tree where Tree Guy’s mouth hung and tossed his broken lips into the trash.
[Other stories in the Tree Guy Saga: Tree Guy, Tree Guy Update, Tree Guy’s Nose Is Still Missing, Another Tree Guy Update, Excavating Tree Guy’s Nose, Tree Guy’s Nose Is Safe, Tree Guy Has It All Together Again]
Writing Near the Lake 
Hey Vickie, I just had fun re-reading all the tree guys posts and I laughed and laughed! I’m thinking the grandkids should be in charge of making a variety of mouths for tree guy, yep, you pulled the nail too soon. And if the kids don’t get a chance, I can see a new tree guy in your future – he’s become a fixture after all!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhhhhh! Snap! Tree guy will still speak through the seasons with daily, incremental words. Tree Guy is now a poet- one of subtlety. He has taught you ten years to read his moods. Tree guy still speaks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tree Guy will have to find other ways to communicate. 🙂 Love the earrings. They really do look like earrings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We have really personified Tree Guy over the years! My favorite example of this is when my young grandchildren looked at Tree Guy as if he might be real. I have a picture of one of them hugging him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You better get busy and build tree guy another mouth before the winter comes…I bet for him “mum is not the word” 🤣.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Years ago when we bought Tree Guy’s face, we bought it because it was unique compared to all the other faces. Maybe I can find a new face and just use the mouth. I could save the rest of the face until I need it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s smart, you never know when he’s gonna lose something else 🙂.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m new here and happy to find you. Still trying to sort out the various delivery systems and how to communicate. I’ll get it soon and try to be a little more effusive and a lot less confused. 😉
LikeLike
Oh poor tree guy! Without a mouth, I feel like he is judging me in the sometimes silence is louder than words type of way.
LikeLiked by 1 person