The only way out is through.
Personal news: Since the last update, the Willow Oak tree–the one I’ve been afraid will fall onto the house–lost a massive limb during high winds last week. The center of the limb showed severe rot. I then inspected the rest of the tree and saw that the stress crack on the trunk was getting bigger. I knew it would be a matter of time before it fell and took out that side of the house with it. I called a tree service (one that was recommended to me as the best) and waited for them to come out and give me an estimate. This was on Tuesday. An arborist showed up and inspected the tree, with me telling him about the stress crack and other issues. He saw it was an urgent case and said that, given how much it is over the house and the delicate nature of removing it, the cost would be $3,000. My jaw dropped. Yeah, it would cost more to repair the house than it would to remove the tree, but… $3,000?! The guy saw my grimace and went in to explain how much rigging they would need to do to safely take it down. He then offered to break up the cost for me: $1,500 on the day of the removal, and then $1,500 within the next 45 days. I saw no other way around this. The tree needed to be gone. So I agreed. I then asked when it would be removed, and he said sometime next week. I sighed and said, “Okay,” and he left. I then spoke to my neighbors about the tree and mentioned the price. The husband chimed in, “I know someone who can do that for a lot less.” I almost collapsed in a heap right there. Seriously?! I wish I had known that a day ago when I made the appointment. I then called the company back and told them to cancel the tree removal. I cited financial reasons. The next day, I saw my neighbor outside with the guy he called, and the price he quoted was $1,300. Yup, definitely cheaper! The following day, the crew of 3, armed with chainsaws, rope, and a little rough-terrain forklift, got to work. They had the tree down within an hour. Nothing fancy and no damage to the house. They then took down a couple of dead trees my neighbor wanted removed. And by 11 am, they packed up and left. For all the years living here, that one tree gave me a constant hum of anxiety. But now, that weight is gone, and it feels incredible. No more thoughts of “when the tree falls.”
A lot of trees out here have some kind of heartwood rot or white fungus, but none of those were leaning over and towards the house. After posting today’s page, I’m going to head outside to start cleaning this up.
(I posted about this tree 7 months ago on Bluesky, back when an ice storm was approaching.)
Side note: The original company I called didn’t officially cancel the scheduled tree removal. Instead, they had me on “hold” for financial reasons. There is fine print that mentions a 10% cancellation fee, which I wasn’t aware of. So on top of the $1,300, it will be $300 to cancel the other appointment. I called them and said there was no more tree to remove, that it was already taken care of by my neighbor. They then marked the appointment as “declined,” and that was it. I didn’t hear anything about a cancellation fee, so fingers crossed!
What else, what else…
Oh! “August’s Sketches” was posted!
✨ Page 28 ✨ is on Patreon for $1+ tiers, plus a bonus image of the page’s original sketch.