Hi, I am the Op. I have heard and appreciate the collective wisdom of simply removing the tree. I would never have planted it in that location myself, but it was there when our daughter bought the house a few years ago. The spot is too shady for a happy spruce. I also agree that a tree of any kind does not need to be there. Maple - You are so right about the probability of repeated antler damage. Funny thing is we never, ever even see the deer during the day. Conifer Joy and Whaas- I grow 6 or 7 species of picea and 3 different abies at our mountain place. I am beginning to landscape an afternoon sun only area that is now outside the windows of a new addition to the cabin. I will try to find a good Abies lasiocarpa 'Compacta'. I do love blue conifers. Ken- I try to read anything you post because you seem to have a similar climate to ours at the cabin ( 6a Blue Ridge Mountains). Its not just the cold; its the wind and the morning sun that are a problem for me there. You asked why I'm in charge and, of course, I'm not. Its their tree. Its just that my daughter and her husband are busy and not really plant people. They like a nice landscape, but do not plan to ever actually prune, dig holes, or remove anything themselves. They have a regular lawn service and a tree service that comes when needed. I am the avid gardener in the family and they asked me to figure out the best thing to do with the damaged tree. I am an experienced gardner, but not an expert on conifers, so I asked for advise here. Thanks!

I took my Chihuahua out to do his business and discovered a bird on the back of my plastic lawn chair. I walked up to him, talking to him and he never moved. I called the dog over to see, I went in and got my camera, still never moved. I took 12 pictures, some very close up with Macro and he never moved. I went and got my husband and he never moved. I thought he was dead and was going to put him in a plastic bag but decided to leave him for my daughter to see when she came in from work. She was due in shortly. After downloading my pictures I went back out to check on him and he was gone. Thank you for the explanation.

Arosegirl, a bit late in answering, just logged on and your post...caught-my-eye...(No pun intended?)... I mentioned this...home remedy?...in a post on another forum some time ago. Several years ago, I woke up with my eyes hurting and lashes almost stuck together...rushed to the mirror and saw (Yuck!) white pus...so much of it I could literally push it out...gross...I was always healthy, so didn't know what was happening...No doctor to see on a Sunday...I called a drugstore and explained to a pharmacist about my eyes...He told me it was an infection...asked if I had any baby shampoo...I did, Johnson&Johnson...He said that it didn't really matter what brand...He said to mix one teaspoon of baby shampoo in a half a cup of barely warm water,hold eye open and gently splash the liquid in the eyes. He said that baby shampoo contained the same ingredients that a doctor uses to wash-out infected eyes. I had a glass with a small opening (similiar to a shot glass)...it "cupped" my eye...tilted my head back and poured it in...I've never been able to use eye drops because I could not stand the thought of anything touching my eyes...but, if you're in misery... There was some relief right away...a few hours later, I repeated the rinse. It released so much 'infection'...by the next day, it seemed cleared-up. I didn't see a doctor. Later, when my daughter got trash in her eyes from her job, and it irritated her eyes, I mixed up the baby shampoo and water...and she got relief right away. We have two outside cats...one got in a squabble with a stray cat and his eyes got infected...I poured the same mixture in/over his eyes and it cleared that up. Diluted, baby shampoo cannot hurt you, as far as I know. Nope, husbands don't ask the so-called-experts...they expect the wife to know everything..ha

My husband is Thai (Asian) and I am white, so when our daughter was born with deep blue eyes and Obvious Asian features, I hoped my daughters eyes wouldn't change! Although I knew it would happen, thankfully she was about 1 1/2 - 2 years old when her eyes changed. She is almost 4 and her eyes are now a blueish/greenish/brown, so they are probably still in the middle of changing, probably to brown. A side note: When our was born, because I am so pale and Obviously white and my daughter is so dark and Obviously Asian, people thought she was adopted :) And they wanted to know where we adopted her from, because of her Asian features and pretty blue eyes - LOL :) ~ Homemade