Timber!

Well, well, well...I guess I spoke too soon. In last week's post I mentioned how there were no big jobs currently going on at the house, and how I was content with the little things (I really was)...and then what do you know, we had a big job. *Rolls eyes*

So last week a neighbor of ours was having some trees professionally trimmed. Of course, my hubby took it upon himself to get an estimate for our tree. Cool, no problem right? We'd talked to our older, more experienced neighbor and he told us that the best solution was to have our tree cut down little by little. He had cut an entire tree down that way. And while, we would still probably be out of the same amount of money, at least it wouldn't be all at once (and our home would be safe in the meantime). That made sense. I mean, as much as I want that tree down, I really couldn't see myself parting with $5,000 all at once for a tree.



*LOL at my friend, when I told her how much it would cost she exclaimed, "To kill a tree? I can put a hit out on a person for less than that." Ain't that the truth...


Long story short, the professionals quoted us $2,500--just for a trim! Naturally, hubby sent them away, but not before they revealed that once the leaves began to grow the price would go up significantly. We truly didn't want to go through another storm season with that literally hanging over our heads. But whatever, kick rocks, respectfully.

Well, at the time, my husband was out in the yard chopping down smaller trees when one of the workers returned to tell him an easier way to do it. They began talking, and the man asked him how serious he was about getting our tree trimmed. And that is when my day was semi shot to hell.*Groans*

Don't get me wrong, getting those limbs trimmed were a real necessity. I got tired of pulling my son into bed with us every time the wind blew, just in case. I hated the possibility of  one of those super thick limbs falling on our roof and possibly causing significant damage. I didn't want to see that tree at all when we created our patio area later this year. So it was definitely a NEED. But if there is one thing I hate, it's coming out of money that I wasn't prepared to spend. Even if I could have mentally planned for it the day before, it would have been better than just being told on the spot. In the end, my husband bullied me into saying yes.

Basically, because they were already in the area, they would do the trim right then and there for $1,000. That was a lot less than the $2,500 they quoted us earlier, and it would get our home out of danger's way. Besides that, the tree has been one of the biggest items on our 'to do' list. And even if we couldn't make it disappear totally, we wanted to take the first step in the right direction. Considering everything, going ahead with the trim was the only logical thing to do. The problem? $1,000 is a lot of cash! I mean, were there benefits involved? Absolutely. But for $1,000 I could have redone my bedroom décor, got me a new rug, went on a shopping spree, purchased a new couch, paid off some bills,  hell, even went on a trip. I felt pretty crappy about it. Nonetheless, I could rest a bit easier knowing that there would be no more limbs potentially compromising the safety of our home, and that's something that you just can't put a price tag on. And so it began:

Getting ready...

It's going down

 

It really amazed me that the process was all done by hand. I always thought that you needed a crane or some type of heavy machinery, but nope! There was one man in the tree with the chainsaw, and several men on the ground lowering the limbs to the bottom with ropes. There were also several other men carrying the limbs to the wood chipper. They had it down to a science.

 

 

The whole thing probably took just under an hour (a quick way to spend a G right?), and when it was all said and done I was beyond disappointed because I really couldn't see much of a change. The men explained that if they took too much off, they'd run the risk of killing the tree and then we would really be in bad shape with a huge tree needing to come down ASAP. Luckily, I took pictures of the before's and after's, and once I did a side by side comparison I could actually tell the difference. Can you?

 

Much better aye?

No more limbs covering our home!!! There was a thunder storm last night and I was able to relax knowing that even if a limb fell, it wouldn't hit our house :) But like my husband said, it's God who protects us anyways ;-)
 

So in the end, I guess I am satisfied. Although that thousand dollars would have been really nice if it was used on a Savannah historical tour, this, I guess, is better. Unfortunately,  I still haven't gotten around to completing my sedum garden, but one project at a time right?

 

Until the next time guys, XO!