Timber

A giant fell last week, right across the street from us.

The easternmost of a pair of stately Norway spruces had died over the past year or so. It was a gradual death, and needles and twigs have been sprinkling from it this whole time.

And instead of letting the tree fall on its own and having insurance pay for any damages and cleanup (such as potential damages to our property), the landlord who owns the property hired some dudes to cut it down. And despite their filthy dirty mouths and lack of protective clothing and eyewear, they actually did a good job. They cut it down on Saturday, August 8.

Between then and now, they have cut off the branches, sliced up the trunk, and hauled the whole thing away on a trailer. Two heavy loads.

Today, the landlord, per his usual style, scalped the grass under it really good. His riding mower made a lot of racket because of all the sticks and little branches that remained. But whatever. It's his lawn mower and his lawn. (Such as it is.)

Sue and I took pictures as they cut down the tree. Sue, with her awesome camera and more-awesome timing, got the nifty-cool sequences. I took pictures from our second-floor window. It was pretty amazing to see that huge tree go down.

. . . Next, I’ll tell you a little about the history of these particular trees and the shrimpy little house they have towered over for about as long as I’ve been on this earth.