Monday, August 20, 2018

Desolate Lawn



So goodbye, dear friend.

On Sunday, our neighbor's tree service took down a very large oak tree that's been our neighbor for 20 years because it wasn't safe anymore due to a rotted core (see below).



Unfortunately, the tree service broke our water line and we were out of water for 2.5 hours but luckily they were able to temporarily patch the line until a plumbing service could replace it.

Today the plumbers left us without water for almost 3 hours until they were able to replace the entire water line.

Meanwhile our front lawn looks like we called in a mortar barrage.

I keep telling myself, "This too shall pass."


13 comments:

LL said...

Neat old tree...sorry it has to go. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Likewise, sorry for your lawn, but a bit of sod well laid and you'll never be able to tell that a mighty oak once stood there.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert... near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away


Ok, I may be waxing TOO philosophical this afternoon.

Kid said...

I too enjoy trees with character.

messymimi said...

We lost several pines to some form of rot, they used to keep our bedrooms cool in summer. Old oaks are the best, though, i always miss them when they have to come down.

Ed Bonderenka said...

Last Sunday I had to drop a huge dead tree in my backyard.
Forked high in the air.
I got to the fork with an extension ladder after clearing lower limbs.
Felled one fork and it dropped perfectly! No damages (or injury!).
Dropped the other fork and it fell to the ground and crumpled in place.
My son and I were covered in sawdust but high fived each other.
The my wife came out ot the house with a small log in her hands and asked where I wanted it.
It had flown through a screen in a doorwall.
Could have been worse.
I once poured gasoline down a rotted stump and lit it.
It burned and smoldered for days and the ground caved in.

Kid said...

Ed, I once hired a crew to take down a huge dead tree that was leaning toward my property, pool, shed, etc. They brought it down while I was at work. I paid them 500 dolla to drop it into the woods in the opposite direction of the house. They said it made a big noise when it came down. I poured myself a vodka and tonic with lime and did something relaxing.

Ed Bonderenka said...

Kid: $500 is a steal. $2000 is the rate around here.
I had one dropped by a professional neighbor friend 15 yrs ago for $600, but he's 15 yrs older.

cube said...

LL: It was a beautiful tree, but life goes on. I get it. Meanwhile I'll just sit here reading my Howard Simon ;)

cube said...

Kid: In my neighborhood we have trees with character. They are older than you and me.

cube said...

Gmail sign up: OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR SELECTING MY BLOG FOR YOUR CRAPTASTIC CRAP FEST THANK YOU SO MUCH

cube said...

Ed Bonderenka: Re: Kids' tree service, give them my number because you got a steal. I'm looking at much more, way much more for the tree in my back yard.

Kid said...

Ed, I was happy with the 500. The tree was around 4 foot thick at the base where they cut it. It was leaning toward the yard so to get it to fall in the woods, they put a block and tackle on it, started slicing and pounded wedges in to get to lean the opposite direction.

No way I'm going to tackle that with my 16 " chain saw. :)

Snaggle Tooth said...

I always hate trees coming down! I hope you didn't need to be clean for a few hours. Hand sanitizer!

cube said...

Snaggle Tooth: I hate losing a tree, but this one was sick and had to be cut down. And yes, I had my hand sanitizer handy. It's no substitute for soap and water.