Proverbial Monkies

You may remember I had a tree die last year.  I vowed to honor that tree because it was my favorite on the property.  After much thought, I decided an old proverb would be suitable for the 110+ year old oak.  In spirit of my decision, I kept the outcome a secret from the neighbors.  I even told the carver not to say anything to them if they ask.  It was quite the talk of the street.

In the Chinese Zodiac, I'm the sign of the Monkey.  It's in my nature to be a little mischievous.

I left about 12 feet of tree left for carving.  Much of it had to be removed to create the sculpture.  You start to see the figures take shape.

Say hello to my monkey trio - Mizaru, Kikazaru, and Iwazaru.  You'll notice there's a crack forming.  My thought was it should be on the other side and it would fit in better.  Nature doesn't always do what we want.  Monkey crack - there I said it!

I made the call to go ahead with the finishing and staining.  We'll revisit and see about fixing the crack once the tree has fully dried.  By the way, the dark coloring on the base came from nails in the trunk.

I'm loving it and so are the neighbors.  People stop on the road to look and take pictures.  The kids on the school bus get very excited when driving by.  I think I made the right choice.  The 10 foot tall naked woman might not have gone over as well.  Not to worry, I have other trees...

Oak Tree's Demise

While I have many oak trees on my property, the oldest one in the front was my favorite. The tree grew straight and tall with a solid base. It was probably older than the house.

Last year I noticed half the tree top was dead. I get more than my share of lightening strikes here so I thought that could be the cause. I've lost at least two trees to electric discharge. By the end of the year, the rest of the tree had died. I was quite sad at the loss.

I tried getting my regular guy to come out to take down this majestic beauty. For reasons unknown, he never scheduled with me. I found a local guy who offered a good price. He ran screaming after climbing the mighty oak. His concerns were around not being able to take down the large branches without dropping them on the road or power lines. In the months and weeks all this took place, I had to reassure the neighbors of the trees strength even in death.
When the wind storm hit earlier this year, they all had trees fall. My oak stood proud and tall. It didn't even lose a branch. The benefit to me was finding out who everyone else used to cut up their downed trees.

The third tree company actually showed up and took the job. They were professional and took care of my tree. I happened to be home when the crane showed up. Enjoy the pictures but know my tree is not forgotten.

The neighbors weren't even home to be happy about the tree being taken down.  They probably wouldn't have been happy anyway because the crane closed off the road.

See how much of the tree is above the tie off point?  That part swung down and almost took out the guy up there cutting.

Now that's how it's down.  And gently laid on the ground for pick up.

 No need to cut it up further, they can do that elsewhere.

Am I the only one with chainsaw envy?  Ladies, I believe he's single.

Coulda, Shoulda, Wooda

We had some powerful winds blow through the area recently. Took out power for days in some spots. I was stuck inside at a meeting and had no idea what happened.... until the ride home. The closer I got to the Lair, the worse the drive became. Downed limbs, power lines and no traffic lights even at major intersections.

Thankfully all was good at home. Mostly debris and a few big limbs down. Unfortunately some neighbors got hit with trees. And my friends were not immune either.



This is what the insurance company left behind at the Colonel's place. Yes that's leaning on his deck and his roof. Jekyll is up on the ladder mulling our options to prevent any further damage as we try to remove it. All we need is for Mrs. Colonel to leave so we can get to work.



Running through the house with a chainsaw can be fun. You might be a redneck if you are cutting a tree with a chainsaw out of a second story window while kneeling on a sofa. Someone give that man a beer!



In the end, victory was ours. We didn't create any extra damage and no one got hurt. Fixing the deck will be another day. No sense pushing our luck.



To the victor goes the spoils and these spoils are ready to be burned. Let's hope the Colonel has the hose ready when he lights that pile this time. I promise not to throw any fireworks in this bonfire. It just sends the wrong message to the kids.