Yesterday was a long day, with a lot of activity. We’re ready for a quiet weekend, though it will certainly be filled with the sound of motorcycles, especially as it’s Labor Day weekend. Cyclists love to use this road and do it frequently. Last Sunday, there were hundreds of cycles going up and down this road and I thought I might go mad.
Anyway, back to the trees, which was the focus yesterday. The three guys who were the crew for the day were great. This is a small, family-owned business focused not only on the removal of trees but on saving trees. The owner and his son are arborists. When they arrived they had two big trucks, one armed with a basket used to reach the higher parts of the trees, one with the wood chipper attached, and a little vehicle that had been dropped off the day before. They used that little vehicle all over the place, it had a scoop that could pick up big logs. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to tamp down the tread marks it made all over the former corral and beyond. There was no helping this, as we’d had a lot of rain in the previous 48 hours. But, no ruts on the front lawn, which was our biggest concern. They managed to prune the big maple from the area where we usually park my car, instead of driving on the lawn.
They arrived about 9:20, and by 11:00 they had completely removed the part of the large maple that fell during the hurricane – and it was huge – and had also taken down the two dead ash trees. We couldn’t believe how quickly they worked. They also saw that there were a couple of trees that had previously fallen up in the back forty and they asked if we wanted to get rid of them. Yes! So they did.
They charge a day rate and everything that can get done during that time is done, and that includes pruning. They pruned the big maple by the house, removing branches that were covering the porch roof and coming perilously close to the chimney. They removed dead branches within the tree and pruned some of the low hanging branches to relieve some of the weight. They were completely responsive to my desire to leave some shade for the hosta bed near the porch and they honored that. I had them remove a long limb that arched over the big garden and only had leaves on the very end because I always feared it would fall either on the garden or on my car. They pruned the catalpa. They pruned the other half of the maple that was remained standing. Parts of the half that fell were rotten by the way. They removed a broken branch on the maple that is on the other side of the house and then proceeded to prune it beautifully. And then, because they finished earlier than expected, they took down the remaining parts of the long dead shag hickory that is down on the corner of our property. We had asked them to but then we thought they might want to finish early so we said they didn’t have to, but they insisted on it.
They were amazing, so good natured, and so willing to listen to our concerns and input. They were out of here by 3:20. So they were here for 6 hours, minus an hour lunch break. They did all that work and cleaned everything up in five hours. There are still some big logs here and the owner is going to come and get them.
Much of this is stuff we’ve known we had to deal with for many years and we always made the choice to postpone it, usually because of available funds, sometimes because I couldn’t bear to see trees cut down or pruned. We had the weeping willow taken down years ago but that was because its roots had invaded our septic system. Our hand was forced when that massive half of the maple fell. Money is still a major issue, but it was well spent. These guys were fabulous and our property and the trees we love so much will be, are, the better for it.
It looks so much better around here. We have some cleanup to do; wood chips in the garden, tread marks in the corral, but really, all my fears were for naught. We would heartily recommend this company to anyone.
And the icing on the cake was totally unexpected. When the guys wanted to back their big truck into the space right by the funky patio, they (and Don) moved the birdbath, the chairs, the planters, etc. next to the house. After they left, Don and began to move everything back. We lugged the heavy base for the birdbath back into position. Then we went back and carried the bath over to the base. I saw something green hanging from it, but I thought it was a leaf. It wasn’t until we got it into position that I noticed what it really was:
It’s a monarch chrysalis! The first one I’ve ever found here on the property; in fact the first one I’ve ever seen in real life. I am absolutely sure I wouldn’t have noticed if if we hadn’t moved the birdbath because I don’t look underneath as a rule and it’s relatively tiny. Was it the caterpillar I saw the other day? Who knows? Anyway, I was so, so thrilled to see it. You can bet I will be observing it daily. What a miracle.
Today is an impossibly beautiful day and we’re going to do some work outside and then we are going to make that little drive to our neighboring town to pick up a couple of books we ordered. We’ll actually walk down some streets!
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
I am glad the tree trimming went well. I know it weighed heavy on your mind. When I taught preschool we watched a Monarch chrysalis hatch. They hatch kinda wet looking and look like they aren’t going to make it until they dry off. Nature is amazing! Enjoy your holiday weekend!
Thank you Cindy!
Stay safe.
Glad it all went well. Where I lived before here in Indy, we had trees that had to be removed…1000.00 per tree..tall pines…don’t ask…it was close to a fortune…someone had planted them all along the property…alas…not the best experience either…have a good good day today…walking streets and buying books…still reading R. Rendell…still home schooling and tutoring…some on Facetime still…enjoy enjoy…waiting for test results still also…enjoy enjoy enjoy…your blogs are like reading books…
I love Ruth Rendell. I’ll have to read some more of her work.
Stay safe, Brenda.
Could you use some of the bigger logs for a makeshift bench or stools in your new area? I remember from camp sitting on logs around the campfire! Laid flat for a bench – smaller and standing for stools!
That’s fine when you’re younger – I was a camp counselor and camper for years. But we want an actual bench with a back to it.
Thanks, Dorinda.
Stay safe.
I am so happy your experience was a good one and your fears weren’t realized. How great is that!! The tree guy we hired several years ago is known as The Tree Monkey and that is the name of his business. He actually lived up to that name as he surveyed the trees from so very high up. It really is wonderful when someone who does that work is caring and careful with the trees.
It is a beautiful day here, as well. It was 47* this morning, but supposed to warm up to 77*. We had a grocery pick up early this morning, and all is wiped down and put away for another week. Such exciting things now make up up our days. I hope you have a fun afternoon taking a drive and strolling down the sidewalks. It truly is the little things!!
It really is the little things. We did some cleanup today and now we’re getting ready to go on our drive.
Thanks so much, Chris.
Stay safe.
I’m happy to hear your tree trimming experience turned out well. We have some trees we need taken down….so apprehensive to actually do it though. It keeps getting put off to “someday”.
I have a friend that searches for monarch eggs and caterpillars. She has big net containers and raises them until the butterflies emerge. Then she sets them free. She must release dozens each year. We have done that on a smaller scale for each of our granddaughters to experience.
Have a lovely outing and weekend. Stay safe.
That’s what we did for years. It’s a lot of money for us, but in the end, our hand was forced. A good thing.
Stay safe, Marilyn.
I am so happy to hear the tree trimming went as well as it did. What a relief that must be for you. And, it sounds like they did extra things that you did not really expect them to do. Win, win!
I am going to laze the day away…except for laundry, and other chores…guess it won’t be that much laying around. But, at least I can take my time with chores, and not rush. That alone is a treat.
I hope you enjoy your drive today as much as we enjoyed ours yesterday. It truly is good for the soul. Stay safe! ;)
Claudia….the town trucks are in front of our house cleaning the tree debris from storm over two weeks ago. We lost two maple trees and part of a much loved cherry tree. Today we got up early and drove to the beach. I just wanted to walk by the water and maybe take some pictures. A group of teenage boys chose to set up about 15 feet away from our chairs. No problem with that until they started tossing around a football that kept landing in front of us. They were not wearing masks and seemed oblivious to the rules. We left after 15 minutes of this. We will wait a couple of weeks to do our solitary beach walks. This is the new NORMAL?
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your trees. It’s so painful, isn’t it?
I’m so over hearing about people being oblivious to social distancing. Why can’t they make an effort? Yes, wait a couple of weeks and then get back to enjoying the beach, Maria.
Stay safe.
We were so tapped out from all the interaction with the tree trimmers that we were too tired to really enjoy the trip. Ah well.
Thanks, Donna.
Stay safe.
what an absolutely wonderful and life affirming post!
I understand about the trees. they are simply sacred to me. I love that you value them so.
and I think men who work so closely with them and with nature and love what they do … well
they’re usually good natured too.
and the little chrysalis! what a gift to be given… to watch the miracle!
thank you for sharing your life with us. xoxo
I’m so thrilled about that chrysalis.
Stay safe, Tammy.
How exciting! Nicely groomed trees and more than you originally planned for, it sounds like. The day rate has its good points if you have lots to do! Nice to get those branches away from the roof/chimney. And it sounds like they took good care. Be grateful you didn’t have the company our utility company hired to removed trees that interfered with power lines. I have a stack of pine in the far back of the yard because they wouldn’t haul things way, and of course you can’t burn pine in a fireplace.
All that and the gift of the chrysalis. Oh, I can’t wait to learn more about this one!
The owner retrieved the logs yesterday. We have some huge hickory logs that they didn’t take. But they’re off to the side of our property on the edge of the woods. I’d like them out of here, but that will have to wait until we need their services again.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
There is nothing as beautiful as a monarch chrysalis. That lovely shade of green and the GOLD! How do they do the gold?! Magical as the texture of the caterpillar and the grace of the butterfly. Seeing them hatch and slowly pump the blood so that their wings open…sigh. Perfection.
I think an arborist is in our near future. Our cherry tree does not look good. I’m hoping that a good trim might rejuvenate it, but I fear we will lose it and the lovely shade it provides our dining table during the hot summers. I’m heartened to hear of your good experience after your maple fell. Maybe we’ll be as lucky. I can hope!
I want to research it and find out what that gold is!
I hope you don’t lose that cherry tree and yes, I think a visit from an arborist might help. We have a small ash tree down near the street and the owner of the company is going to treat it for us, hoping to fend off any pests. We’d love to see it survive.
Thanks, Roxie.
Stay safe.
that is great news about the tree work done today, that you are relieved and pleased with what was done and how it was done! and then for you to find that monarch chrysalis … hooray!
glad that went well and that you and don could enjoy a nice outing again. :)
while i am grateful to have a job, i am also grateful that today is friday and i am home and showered. :) a few days ago, two college towns here in iowa ranked first and third in the entire country for bad covid-19 numbers … yet our governor still did not issue a mask mandate (the mayor of des moines did, but it is purely symbolic because there’s no fine or warning … violators will just be given a “free” mask and information about safety precautions) and my boss opened up some common space that has been where people congregate. one of whom gave my boss today written proof of her having tested positive for covid-19 last week. not good. stuff like that is hard for me to understand, especially now that we’re more than seven months into this. ugh.
on to better news … i have a week of vacation coming up later this month (just approved today) and i am very much looking forward to that! :) and it will start bright and early that monday morning at an appointment with an ent doctor to investigate the quake in my voice. can’t delay it any longer … it’s not pleasant to hear and (worse) it’s hard for members of my family to sometimes hear/understand me (especially now doing 99% of our visiting over the phone or from ten feet away) and that breaks my heart. this appointment will likely lead to soon getting a botox shot in my throat once every few months; a couple voice therapy sessions may be required before that can happen. i am a bit nervous, but overall have a hopeful attitude about it and am ready to get that better!
going to read a bit after washing the dishes. hope you all are having a nice night.
stay safe!
kathy in iowa
Glad to hear of your upcoming vacation and your plans to start working (with a doctor) on the voice problem. Voice therapy is such a good thing, Kathy, and it should really help you. I’ve had interactions with voice therapists in the course of my coaching and teaching work and the service they provide is invaluable.
Stay safe.
How great that now you won’t have to worry about the trees for the near future. Keep us posted on the chrysalis. We had so many Monarchs in our garden this year, thanks to the patch of milkweed plants.
Earlier this evening Dean and I had a weird experience while driving over to the other side of town to the pet shop. As we approached the main intersection in our little town we noticed people on each corner holding signs. Turns out, they were Trump supporters shouting and waving their signs. We had to stop for the light and my window was down so I could hear them urging us to honk. I shook my head and shouted that we’re not losers and suckers so we won’t be voting for him. Later Dean said he couldn’t get them out of his mind. How even after everything that we’ve learned these last four years (and what’s come out in the last 24 hours in the Atlantic) about what a sociopath he is, there are still idiots willing to overlook all of it. Not surprising in our area though. We live in a Republican stronghold. Our congressman is an idiot. Glenn could give Louie Gohmert a run for his money in the stupidity department. And these same sign-waving morons voted for him for years in the state senate and then sent him to DC.
Well, hopefully that’s the most disconcerting thing that happens to us for a while.
Take care.
Kay
We have, too. We have about 30 milkweed plants here and we’ve seen a lot of Monarchs. We’ve also seen them lay their eggs.
I wonder if it made any difference to those Trumpers that Fox News corroborated the Atlantic story? Or are they just hopelessly lost?
I love your response to them, Kay!
Stay safe.
Oh, I am so happy with your tree experience!
I didn’t get a chance yesterday to reply to your post and tell you how lovely your “park” in the woods is. Don’s got an eye for landscape design. Those mossy cinder blocks are priceless!
Take care…
Interestingly, Don worked for a landscaping company during one long ago summer. He often wishes he had pursued it further.
Stay safe, Kelly.
That was quite a post! A lot going on at MHC.
Glad you had a nice day with good weather. Wish I could say the same for SoCalif. We’re beginning a brutal heatwave. (90s and humid on Fri./yesterday.) And it’s already been too hot; our August was HOT. But the San Fernando Valley is supposed to be 113 degrees today. (You’ve heard of Encino? This is ENCINO. Positively unreal temps, like what used to be Palm Springs. Or Death Valley!) And today, even Los Angeles Downtown could be as much as 108 degrees. Our Pacific coast beaches here in the South could get beyond 90 degrees. One weather person’s quote was, in fact, 98 degrees on the sand (is this Galveston?!). So, we’re on grid alerts and needing to keep as much electrical turned off or down from 3pm to 9pm. And, then, with barely a respite, the Santa Ana winds start in next week.
‘Tis September here; we expect the easterly winds, but have I ever seen these types of hot temps? I don’t think so. Dangerous heat; just dangerous. I feel badly for animals/pets which are relegated to the outdoors but there’s also a lot of people/humans who have no air conditioning in SoCalif.
I always want so much to celebrate Fall but we’ll be lucky if we see an autumn leaf by December; our seasons just get weirder and weirder. I want it to cool down. And we’ve again forgotten what it’s like to ever have rain.
My husband and I can’t understand why only a very-few SoCalif counties closed the beaches for Labor Day weekend. They expect one million people on the beaches in L.A. this weekend. The mayor said this is no time to have a backyard BBQ gathering, yet he didn’t close the beaches. To me, makes no sense. Middle of September? God knows where we’ll be on Covid. But people will go to the water today-tomorrow-Monday because they’re just too hot at home in our area. I’ve already seen this on TV with flocks of people on the Jersey shore, etc.
Anyway, back to you, good feeling I’m sure to do such a big cleanup and also in good preparation for your winter to come. It’s so pretty and the shade can be so cooling for a home, but trees too near a house can be disastrous. I had a roofer tell me years and years ago to also not let leaves bunch up on a roof because they can hold water and damage the shingles. My bozo neighbor next door took down a tree which has been covering his house for years and we can see it from a higher elevation on our property; the roof is completely green and moldy where those tree branches and leaves were (for too long), but I doubt the dude even realizes it because he’s too busy building an overly-large ‘Tiny House’ in the rear yard. He shaved off the other side of his roof so he could wedge his 27-ft travel trailer to the rear (could barely get it between two houses); many people have asked us, “What’s with that guy’s roof?” But he just leaves it that way. Never fixes it. (Grrrrr…)
(I thought it was interesting that you talked about the chimney, but then I remember your house was like my former little cottage on the hill in that the fireplace was long since not usable and capped off. Darn. You and Don are precisely the duo that are suited to a soothing and warming fireplace on a winter’s day as you read and cuddle.)
Kick back and enjoy your end-of-summer holiday now with some good reads and after some nice city-street walking. For me? Stay home as usual (blah, boring) and just try to keep cool (not overtax the old central air conditioning system we have [but grateful for it!]).
I just looked this up, the true meaning of Labor Day:
“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” Never so good to remember than now, and give prayers to all who have lost work in the U.S. over the past few months. We retirees have all had a lot of working years; so, yes, it’s ‘our’ holiday, ‘our day’, but it’s hard not to think of the present economy. (Thinking, too, of all the hard work of my ancestors as they helped ‘build’ this country.)
The boiler works through the chimney and expels whatever it needs to expel up and out of the chimney. It’s situated directly below the area on the living room where a wood stove used to exist.
We didn’t have air conditioning when we lived in San Diego, though we did install a window unit in the back den.
I’m so sorry about the dangerous temperature levels. Lay low, stay inside, and stay safe, Vicki.
Two weeks ago I had my 100 year old Maple cut down. It was a very tough decision but I wanted more sunlight to be able to grow my own food, something I haven’t done in 10 years that I desperately miss. She had been neglected her entire life so her limbs were abnormally long and uneven making it difficult to trim her up. As they were cutting her, we found her center was being destroyed by black ants! I never knew ants did that, so it was the right decision to make. Do I need to mention that every time we had a windy storm I was terrified of her giant limbs breaking off? That actually happened in early 2015, landing in the backdoor neighbors yard missing his garage!
We had to do the same thing with our weeping willow – we were always afraid it would fall on a passing car.
Our big maple is about 125 years old. But our tree guy will keep an eye on it. Finger crossed!
Stay safe.