LOL!

Judging from the condition of the bark, it appears that the tree was stabbed when William Howard Taft was the president.

dcarch

I hadn't heard about this, Kathy. I'm not sure HG would be invited again. Colossal nerve to think they were doing something right.

I'm so sorry.
Kathleen

I've heard this story and it's still amusing. That you call him the HG is even more amusing. I assume he has incredible redeeming qualities. :)

E

Good thinking! It's worth $125 to have it there and tell Beau about King Arthur pulling Excalibur from the stone. Not enough little boys hear the old stories and imagine themselves as the hero prince.

Who is HG? I know must of the abbreviations, but this one escapes me.

HG=Raymond my DH. While he is one special individual loved by all, he doesn't have knowledge of or interest in anything domestic consequently he is referred to as the "house guest". If you can believe this, he doesn't understand the concept of a shower curtain. And all the sacrifices we made early on in our marriage for his masters degree.

LOL, how could I have missed that! We both have Master Degrees. Sacrifices??? Yep. I showed this to DH and he groaned when I told him about the Prince. No imagination, I tell you, no imagination!

An understanding of a shower curtain isn't necessary in our home. We have a long shower (6 ft) with no doors. Just don't turn the water on high. Doesn't grow stuff in it either. Guess it's a FL thing.

I have been there and seen it in person. I, a low serf, could not pull it out, so I am happy there is a Prince Beau and and a Princess Lilly to accomplish the task.

As for the knave, the HG, that impailed it into the tree, he has been dealt with most severly but I hope his punishment is now over. He is a most likable fellow and does have his finer points. Sadly, domestic duties are not his forte. But he is quite handsome and loyal to the Prince and Princess:). And his undying love for the Mistress of the tree is well known in lands far and wide.

As for Excaliber itself, it is of fine craftsmanship coming from the Mutterland. I am sure that once freed, that blade will be as sharp and finely honed as that day it was forged.

LOL, Peppi, I'm sure you're right. Someday Prince Beau will remove that blade from its imprisonment and wield it expertly. The HG will be forgiven, the Kingdom will flourish, the Mistress of the Tree will recognize the HG as her knight in shining arbor and Princess Lily will smile sweetly and be The Princess.

And they'll all live happily ever after.

Annie

Pep, Annie, Really cute story, I'll have to copy it. Oh, and Annie, HG is always forgiven...eventually.

DC, That tree isn't that old but it grows fast.

Well, HG had escaped me entirely. I guess he does need to be kept. But I don't think I could forget it. Wow.

I still think of when 1stDH went on a fishing trip. I sent a Tupperware bowl with salad with him. I couldn't find it when he came back. Turned out they had forgotten a bait bucket, so punched holes in my TBowl, then threw it away. I couldn't believe he would treat something of mine that way, especially as we counted dimes & couldn't afford to replace it for some time. This was at least 55 years ago - I haven't forgotten!!

Yay! I can finally see it. I can't see anyone pulling that sucker out. King or not!

Hey, if it's already given up for lost, you might try this. Get a long drill bit (some people call them 'bell hanger bits') like the one at the link. Drill parallel to the top edge ('spine') of the knife, as close to the spine as practical. (If the drill bit hits the spine, it's not a big deal since that's not the working edge--you can later polish or grind off any nicks on the spine).

Once you have a hole parallel to the spine of the knife, it may be possible to squirt in a little lubricant like WD40 and see if you can rock the knife a little vertically. Once it gives a little, you might be able to work it out.

You don't need to spend big $$ like the Milwaukee bit at the link; your local home improvement store might have one cheaper, and a cheapo place like a flea market where they sell cheap Chinese tools might have one for even less.

And I can't let this Arthurian reference go by without tossing out a little Latin erudition: 'Excalibur' is from the Latin 'ex calce liberatus'--"freed from the stone".

Here is a link that might be useful: bell hanger bit

Wow, it does look like it is in there for good.

~Ann

OMG, I just love this. I am tempted to go stab one of my trees with my Wusthof knife. How long has it been there?

Thanks Arley, but it's been worth the conversations with Beau. When he first saw it he was 3 and even he knew it wasn't right; he said "why he do dat?"

Pam, It's been there about 5 years.