FINALLY, MEDUSA ACKNOWLEDGED DEFEAT!

About 3 months after applying the herbicide onto its 

skinned trunk, this robust kepompong tree, as my late 

mother used to call it, finally gave in. 

Our beloved Kepompong, still young.

When I went back to my kampung recently,  I noticed that although 

the dead tree was still standing, looking strong and mystic, some of its branches 

were already beginning to decay, falling down to the ground, and 

slowly but steadily turning into tasty nutrients for the other plants around it.

Medusa and her "tentacles".

When the kepompong tree was still young, I had actually given it 

a very special name,  "Medusa". Its branches  had

always reminded me then of the vicious serpents found on

Medusa's head,  as told in the old Greek mythology. 

Growing healthily between my mother's and sister's houses,  

the kepompong tree @ Medusa was dearly loved  by us all. Not only did 

it provide us with good shade, but it was also a heaven for 

many different kinds of birds, squirrels and bees. They too were very fond
of the tree, a truly multipurpose big green umbrella for them.

-

My sister's house, now unoccupied

My late mother's house, now unoccupied too.
 
 After my dear mother passed away about four years ago, my eldest 
sister moved into a smaller house about 100 meters away from her old house, 
now very much closer to the main road and my other sister's house. 

The area around my sister's abandoned house and the kepompong tree 

then became a popular play ground for wild pigs. These pigs had 
also turned the uninhabited surrounding area into an

area where they could look for worms as food.  Their "worm harvesting" 

and "recreational" activities there had made the ground really messy.

My eldest sister's new "banglo kampung", hihihi.

I then thought that my sister should see less of those wild pigs, and no more
kepompong that had been providing them with such a comfortable
living environment. So I made the decision to get rid of the tree to make
its surrounding area less attractive to the animals, but more attractive to us.

Pak Temuk and his eldest sister

I found it rather strange that the wild pigs didn't seem to
develop any liking to "excavate" the ground around the row of kelat paya 

trees that I had planted close to the kepompong tree for worms. Otherwise,
those lovely barisan kelat paya, like Medusa,  would have to go too.

Maaf ya Medusa, kerana membuangmu.  Juga maaf ya para burung, para tupai, 

para lebah, dan juga makhluk-makhluk kecil lainnya, kerana kupupuskan Medusa.