Our favorite arborist, Dudley Hulbert (Trees of the Tropics) spent the last two days with his crew working to get the two mango trees in our back yard trimmed back to a reasonable size. The unusually hot, humid weather made it a miserable job, so we doubly appreciate their efforts.

Here’s a “Before” photo for those who don’t recall the trees in their overgrown condition.

And here are a couple taken after Dudley finished his work. In a month or so, they’ll be filling out with new leaves.

The “smaller” tree, on the right in this photo, is a Bombay Pirie, planted in 1943 after my sister was born. It’s growth is somewhat limited by a coral shelf that constrains its roots.

The larger tree, a haden mango, was added after I was born four years later.

And, as they proved this summer, they are still quite capable of producing a great mango crop.

Click on any photo to view a larger version.