And the Tree Goes On

First, let’s catch up. The photo above is the final version of the flower bed I was working on earlier. It was a BEAR getting those stumps out. But, finally, the last one was history, and I put in decorative grasses, two spirea, a climbing rose and some begonias. What happened to the caladiums and hydrangea, you might ask? I know you’re dying to find out!

Well! We had a little storm last week. When I came home, another third of the tree was lying on the ground. Once again, I dodged the bullet. No damage to my house or the neighbor’s house. But, it was obvious at that point. The tree had to go. So did all those shade-loving plants I had purchased. Luckily, Lowes is friendly about returns. I got more tools to assist in tree (and tree root) removal – and some sun-loving plants.

So, that’s where I was. Waiting for the weekend when I could – with any luck – recruit some help to get that tree down all the way. And then there was Monday night….

This is what I woke up to Tuesday morning. It was not a storm. Just a little wind. Not much at all. This illustrates just how dangerous that tree had become. I had to get the thing out of the street and away from my mailbox. I have a very grumpy mailperson. Ahem! So, I hauled out my new saws and choppers and took care of what I could. However, when it was all said and done, the thing that was bothering me was this:

That’s a very large, heavy limb you’re looking at. It was balancing precariously on a smaller limb, with part of its weight supported by skinny little branches on the ground. I was afraid that one touch would send everything crashing down on my head! What to do? What to do?

I did nothing.

Sweet Boyfriend is really, really sick this week. He’s the victim of some medical malpractice, but I won’t go into THAT right now. It’s sufficient to say that I’ve been bouncing between both houses and work, trying to keep him medicated and looked-after while maintaining my job and house. And not doing a very good job at any of it. So, the long and short of it is, I had no male assistance with this project. And, oh yeah…the guy across the street did WATCH me work for a while. A$$!

Wednesday is trash day. I knew the city would pick up all the piles of branches I had created. But, what I did NOT expect was that the city workers would take away the big branch you see in the photo and a couple of others that were hanging to the main trunk by a little bit of bark. These were HUGE pieces, and they’re SUPPOSED to be cut into small chunks before the city will deal with them. But, they took my hunks!!! I have no branches, logs or dangling limbs in my yard at this point. I will be sending thank-you letters to the city, BTW.

I have found male help. Someone who is young and strong and not afraid of my chainsaw (like yours truly, for instance). He will be over Sunday to take down the rest of the tree. If it stands up that long! Cross your fingers!