Just A Trim Please

I love this time of year.

Everything is starting to turn green,

the tulips are in their full glory

and the trees are finally leafing out.

The only hard thing about it is

all of the work that has to be done

to get ready for summer.

Things like 

putting mulch in the flower beds,

fertilizing the lawn,

cleaning out the rain gutters,

spraying off the patio furniture

and pruning all of the trees.

I really needed to get my trees 

pruned by a professional this year.

We have three little-leaf lindens

in the backyard

that have gotten too big to do ourselves.

I asked around for a recommendation

and settled on "Ben" who came

recommended by a couple of people.

I met Ben last week

as he came out to give me a bid on the job.

I walked him around the yard 

and he got a general idea 

of what needed to be done.

We were doing great...

"just a little clean up," he said...

until we got to the three linden trees.

"Oh..........". 

(ten minute pause)

I waited...

"What?" I finally asked.

He went on to explain to me 

that while lindens 

are one of his favorite trees,

they do have some negative characteristics

that have to be death with early on.

Early, as in within the first two years.

Now that is a problem 

since my trees are twelve years old.

He talked to me about 

what it would take to fix the issues,

and then went on to outline

future prunings that would need to be done.

Now, keep in mind these trees 

are Bob's favorite trees.

He purposely planted them

to have a canopy effect.

We had planned on 

hanging a hammock in them this summer,

and the last thing he told me

before I had Ben come was

"do anything you want, just don't 

mess with those three trees."

My heart sunk.

What to do?

After talking some more with Ben,

he convinced me that in the long run

it really would be best 

to fix the issues now.

I took his advise and scheduled the service.

Since then,I have done nothing but stew 

about my decision.

I've gone back and forth

about calling and cancelling my appointment.

 In fact, Ben didn't show up yesterday,

 as he had planned.

I wondered if it was a sign.

But, he showed up this morning,

chain saw in hand,

and a smile on his face.

I took a deep breath 

and led him to the backyard.

I told him I had to leave for an hour

to go see a friend.

I thought it was probably best 

if I didn't watch.

I asked him before I left 

if he would please try to make sure

they looked as good as possible

when he was finished.

He assured me he would.

An hour later, I came down the street

to this huge pile in my front yard.

It doesn't look that significant

in this photo,

but it looks a lot bigger in real life.

My neighbor asked me when I walked by

if I was cutting down all of my trees.

Yikes!

My heart was beating fast.

I walked into the backyard

and saw my slightly thinner lindens,

looking all perky and cute.

Whew!! What a relief!

I was very happy with what I saw.

Ben assured me 

that they will fill in more 

throughout the summer.

He also said 

we have probably added

many years to their lives.

We may have to put off the hammock

for a year or two,

but it will be worth it.

I am so happy with all of the trees

that were pruned.

And the best part....

Ben had to leave for a few hours

to assist on another job.

He scheduled a chipper to come back

and remove all of the limbs from my yard.

I wanted to pay him before he left,

but he wouldn't hear of it.

"Not until every last twig is picked up,"

he said, promising to be back 

in an hour or two.

Ahhhh..... the sweet smell of integrity.

It's been a while since I have smelled that

from a company.

Anybody need a good, reputable arborist?

Give me a call.