The suspension tree is dead
Long live the suspension tree!
So, uh, about an hour ago I went outside for a clove, only to find the delicious smell of wood burning. That's odd, I thought, how could the neighbors have a fire if they don't have a firepit/place/hearth/chimney? And isn't there a burn ban? Then, I looked at the smoke... and saw where it was coming from.
"Oh Fuck"
The awesome, huge, old tree in our back yard from which we used to do suspensions is dead. Not just dead, but hollowed out. At some point after I left this morning, the light fixture in the tree exploded and lit the anchoring point for the branches (for lack of a better way to put it) on fire. Several cubic feet of central tree structure were gone, eaten away by the still-smoldering fire over the course of god knows how long (seriously, why didn't someone call 911 on the fire??). I ran to get Jason, who was taking a nap, and helped him put out what was left of the smoldering tree innards. But by then, the damage had been done. Several huge, 100+-pound branches are hanging on... barely, but some of them are over our roof and others over the yard. They all need to come down, the tree is no longer structurally stable and it's merely a matter of time before the branches crash down and do damage. The last thing I want to deal with is an insurance company right now.
Crap.
Anyone know a good tree trimmer?
In other news, I got up before the asscrack of dawn today (ugh, 5am is so freaking early), to pay just under $38 for a tank of gas in the Volvo (which was never less than $55 this summer!), to drive to Waco for a work-related 5K race. I brought Spartacus, and he was the star of the show of course. I met a bunch of people, saw something I worked on in action, and fielded Spartacus-related questions before heading back into town to discover the previous oh so fabulous news.
What a weekend. And it's not even Sunday!
So, uh, about an hour ago I went outside for a clove, only to find the delicious smell of wood burning. That's odd, I thought, how could the neighbors have a fire if they don't have a firepit/place/hearth/chimney? And isn't there a burn ban? Then, I looked at the smoke... and saw where it was coming from.
"Oh Fuck"
The awesome, huge, old tree in our back yard from which we used to do suspensions is dead. Not just dead, but hollowed out. At some point after I left this morning, the light fixture in the tree exploded and lit the anchoring point for the branches (for lack of a better way to put it) on fire. Several cubic feet of central tree structure were gone, eaten away by the still-smoldering fire over the course of god knows how long (seriously, why didn't someone call 911 on the fire??). I ran to get Jason, who was taking a nap, and helped him put out what was left of the smoldering tree innards. But by then, the damage had been done. Several huge, 100+-pound branches are hanging on... barely, but some of them are over our roof and others over the yard. They all need to come down, the tree is no longer structurally stable and it's merely a matter of time before the branches crash down and do damage. The last thing I want to deal with is an insurance company right now.
Crap.
Anyone know a good tree trimmer?
In other news, I got up before the asscrack of dawn today (ugh, 5am is so freaking early), to pay just under $38 for a tank of gas in the Volvo (which was never less than $55 this summer!), to drive to Waco for a work-related 5K race. I brought Spartacus, and he was the star of the show of course. I met a bunch of people, saw something I worked on in action, and fielded Spartacus-related questions before heading back into town to discover the previous oh so fabulous news.
What a weekend. And it's not even Sunday!