I think that I shall never see...

In light of the recent " Nor' Easter" and the havoc it played on the trees in the yard I had a tree service come by today and do some pruning etc.

I didn't lose any trees in the yards - a few blocks over everybody lost everything- but A few considerable branches came down and a ton of twigs. That's a great word, I vow to use it more often. Twigs.

But , an ounce of prevention and all that. So the call was made.

They arrive with two huge trucks- a cherry picker and the hugely entertaining woodchipper. There are few things more satisfying than watching a huge log turned into mulch in a few short seconds. And that grinding noise! I suspect the dinosaurs must have made a similiar sound because it connects to some preconscious Fred Flinstone pleasure center in the brain. ( I think we might have gone to The Fred Flintstone Pleasure Center on vacation during the '60's. It was in wisconsin if memory serves.)

Here's the breakdown A Big Irish Mug named Mike drives the truck and acts as foreman , three spanish speaking gentleman stay on the ground and clean up the debris as the tree is being sliced and diced. This can be harrowing to watch as these guys go rushing in to grab branches off the ground as others are falling all around them. Harrowing, but cool.

And then there is "Paul" who does the cutting. He is another spanish speaking gentleman of average height and build. Not a big guy by any measure but certainly not small either. It was thrilling to watch this guy work- I was talking to him , I turned away for one second, turned back and he was ten feet up the tree- running chain saw in hand. It was that scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ( the fight in the branches of the willow trees )come to life.

This guy takes great pride in his work so he was 'scuplting' the tree from the inside, while taking care not to crush the guys working on the ground, while scampering up and down the branches, while keeping up a running commentary on what he was doing.It was a utilitarian Cirque de Soilel right in the backyard- stuff was getting done in a compelling and entertaining way.

As my father used to say " I love hard work, I could watch it all day long"