END OF THE YEAR 2015

Yesterday, Peru's Tree Service arrived with 4 guys, a huge crane, a wood chipper, and a bobcat to work on cutting down our very tall, very large, very dead ash tree that sits between our house and our neighbor's house to the west.  Talk about a nerve-wracking job, just watching!!  

I don't know how these guys do this but they were A++, working quickly, efficiently, and the boss, Jesus Izquierda, was there all the way, directing, running the bobcat (to put the large trunks of the tree into the chipper).  The guy who was hoisted on the crane into the top of the tree couldn't be afraid of heights or danger, but it made me hold my breath until he got his feet placed on a solid trunk.  

The company is named Peru's Tree Service because the owner, Jesus, is from Peru.  He works 7 days a week while he is here, closes up the business December 20th and returns to Peru to see him family for a couple of months.  This job was delayed from Monday (when we had rain and wind and rain and wind and...you get the idea), so I am so glad it could be done today.  

After the man in the tree cut large sections of the tree away, the crane lifted it up and over to the ground in the front yard or close to the road, where it was cut up into manageable pieces to stuff into the wood chipper.

You see all that junk leftover from the tree touching the ground and the limbs being cut off?  They did not wait until the end of the job to clean up, but cleaned up the roadway each time so neighbors could drive in and out without going over all that stuff.  Very good cleanup along the way and I was impressed with that.

When the parts became too large for one or two men to load it into the chipper, Jesus got into the Bobcat and lifted and pushed the larger parts in.  

After several sections were done, the trimmer finally got to the trunk of the tree (still almost even with the roof of our house).  Cutting that away, he then stood on the deck and cut away the largest trunk piece.  While this was going on, they were cutting down a yew bush that was taking over the driveway, it was growing so large; and another guy got into the oak on the other side and trimmed some dead branches away.

We didn't have them take it down to the roots, just down below the deck.  I know the shrubs and other stuff will grow up around it soon enough for the birds to still be happy - and they didn't harm the oak tree that was right beside it.  Nothing fell on the house except small limbs and sawdust and they did a great job cleaning the yard and the neighbor's yard - and even stacked and oak limbs for our neighbor to use as firewood, putting it in his backyard for him.  

This job ended a week of catching up from being away for 2 weeks (why do you always need a vacation a week after you return from vacation??), errands, doctors appointments and tests (for my mother), worry (tests turned out normal for her!), running, sending out cards, shopping, etc., and I am glad to see the end of it.  Now, on to wrapping those last-minute gifts and planning those wonderfully relaxing (pass the bourbon, please!) holiday visits with family...

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season.  Take care of yourself and each other - we're all we've got!  (And just for fun, when at a drive-thru or in line at Starbucks or a restaurant, pay it forward and make someone's day!)

See you in 2016!