Life is short

The cicada from the previous post died of natural causes and was recycled by the ants and other small creatures.

Circle of life

Another thing that suddenly looks dead is one of the 2 small cherry saplings I planted last year. Within a week all its leafs have turned brown and dry. Something ate its roots? Not sure but I will not dig it out trying to find out. Just let it be there for a year...maybe it is just asleep.

some disease?

The "dead" cherry is on the left in the picture. In the middle is the "living" other cherry they are different cultivars but started out at the same time and same size. A bit further down is the peach sapling struggling. The weeds are just crazy. I have pulled out weeds from that whole area twice already this year but they just explode out again... stupid weeds.
Totally unrelated, the kittens can now access pretty much everywhere in the house so nothing is safe anymore. Everyday I come home from work I find the result of their shenanigans in shape of something or other pulled out from a closet or shredded into tiny bits or hidden behind the fridge etc.
At least they have fun I guess. They already have all their regular toys but apparently household goods are more fun to chew through.

One of their favorite places. Just don't fall in...

The heat is still preventing me from digging and cleaning the backyard top level. Just in case, here is how far I have come:

It's the part that looks like a hole

I'm gonna bury a thick hard plastic sheet just under the net to stop the roots to invade from outside. I will back fill it tightly under the concrete. The concrete by the way is a very cheap and sloppy job. Looks like they just poured concrete over a hill. It is already falling apart. So much for government paid and owned quality. In front of the net/concrete, above the buried plastic wall, I want to put some kind of wall... but if that is too difficult I will have to do with just filling dirt and let it go down like a slope.... If that makes any sense.