A Fine Post For A Sign Post

Well here's an unassuming brick post. A fine, upstanding, hard working, straight arrow citizen in the world of gate posts. Was it always this way? Standing erect and at attention as costumers strolled past? Would it surprise to you to learn that this very post had been sagging in the recent past? Mired in a lazy slump, and leaning heavily with the weight of the world on it? In fact, this post that you see before you was all of these things and more. (shame!) It actually looked more like this:
Yes it's true. Asleep at the switch and dreaming of days gone past where it had stood tall and proud. Waiting for the day when it could be returned to it's former glory. Waiting to stand in line proudly with his brothers. Well that day finally arrived.

Actually it was more like a month. I started digging a while back with the intention of straightening the post, but one thing lead to another (Long list of things from the doctor that you are just better off not knowing. Not because it's icky, but just because it's as I said, long...) and I was delayed in finishing the task. We were subsequently forced to strategically place 'garden art' around it to stop unsuspecting customers from falling victim to the half dug hole.

Well, with our short camping trip coming up meaning it would have to lean another whole week, plus me being firmly on the road to 'not-as-bad-as-a-couple-of-weeks-ago', I hunkered down and got to it. I picked the most hot and humid day around, but hey, who's complaining?

Here is the reason the post started to lean in the first place. A near by tree had been putting the screws to it for years. I had to drag the axe out of it's summer vacation to deal with it. Just to the left of my boot you'll notice a notch where the the root had been pushing against the post. Yeesh. Some peoples' trees.
And here's a wheel barrel full of reasons why my elbows are still hurting today. The tree is actually not that close to the pillar, but it's roots had spread wide...

So there you have it. The classic tale of a fallen soul with the unlikely twist of a happy ending. Now that it's standing straight once more, we've got plans to erect a ranch like sign bridging the gap between the two posts to beckon people forth-with. Actually more like 'ice cream-with', but we'll take 'em like we can get 'em.