Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
As you may have already heard a large tree fell in our yard Monday morning. Well, technically, it was on the outside of our fence, but close enough to fucked up ten feet of fence. Oh, and not so much " in our yard" as much as it was laying across the street on top of what was left of the power lines. When the tree went down, the roots came up through the bottom of the fence and split the section of fence in two.So, I did the responsible thing and immediately called the power company. They said that they would have some one out ASAP. Half an hour later the power company pulls up next to the tree. Two guys hop out, look at the mess, jump back in their truck and leave. Around this time J.R. calls the county sheriff to have them put out some flares. We have a lot of kids that go past our house to get to school. So the sheriff, who must have been 6'6" or 6'8", tosses out four flares (I thought 15 was the minimum amount of flare)and leaves shortly there after.
The next to arrive are the guys from the tree removal service. Well, the first thing they see are the power lines in the tree enough for them. They don't even bother to get out of the truck. They leave too. Around this time I find out that the power company won't do anything because there is a tree on the lines, and the tree service won't do anything because the lines are under the tree. The last of the party guests to show up are the guys from the village street department. They were up front about the fact that this was beyond their capabilities. So let us recap. Three different crews check this thing out and no one wants to touch it. My tax dollars hard at work.
About an hour later the tree service starts cutting it up. I go out and talk to the guy "in charge". I ask about what they do with the wood when they are done. His response..."I don't know we just get it off the road enough for cars to pass." Nice. I watch them cut for awhile, and I notice that the guy in the cherry picker is cutting off the biggest branch holding down the power lines that are directly under him. I think to myself " This guy is gonna cut the branch off, those lines are gonna shoot up, and rip his head off. Or at least an arm, I'm not picky. But, alas, his buddy stops him and they tie the lines down to the truck. So much for entertainment. Time to get some rest.
A while later J.R. wakes me up and tells me they are taking the whole tree. I at least wanted the trunk to chop up for firewood. I toss on some clothes and walk out there barefoot and looking like hell. After a little chatting, the guys from the village unload the two biggest pieces for me. It worked well for them since doing it like this would save them an extra trip. Works good from me because they had to deal with all the bullshit brush and pick up the mess.
I called in to work and told them that I wouldn't be in. You know fallen tree, no power, gotta fix the fence. That old chestnut. The damage wasn't all that bad though. It took me about three hours to dig out the roots and fill in the hole. The only boards that actually broke were the three rails on that section of fence and only one of the pickets. So sixteen bucks later I got everything to repair the fence.
All in all not a bad deal. I wanted that tree gone anyway. I was always scared that it would fall on the garage and the trucks in the driveway, and that's a headache I don't need. Friday J.R.'s dad is coming down to help cut it up. Apparently, he went out after work and bought a big ass, gas(not ass-gas) powered splitter. Man, is he reeeally excited about this. Dude, it's just a tree. Well, I guess it is a good excuse to buy a new tool/toy.
greasemonkey1320 at 3:52 AM
5 People who found a peppercorn
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at 7:40 AM
Katy Barzedor said... I've always been afraid the same thing would happen with the big honkin' tree that's right next to the house here.
Now you and Jess' dad can play lumberjack. Um, but not in the "put on women's clothing and hang around in bars" way.-
at 4:46 AM
greasemonkey1320 said...
Well, that made for a disturbing mental image!
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at 8:52 AM
Unknown said...
Gotta love the chance to play with new power tools!
I'm glad everyone was ok, and the that the tree didn't do any severe damage. Good work on fixing up the fence and stuff!-
at 10:38 PM
I'm not here. said...
"I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay/I sleep all night and I work all day!"
Monty Python = priceless-
at 3:17 PM
Katy Barzedor said...
I understand you and the two dads whipped out the Wisconsin braaatwurst, right in the driveway.
Is there no shame on the other side of the big penis-shaped lake?