When we moved into our property, there was a large elm tree in our backyards between our property and the next-door property. The tree used to create some nuisances. But, backyard squirrels and raccoons enjoy it. My neighbors were quite annoyed by passing-by squirrels and raccoons that made neighborhood dogs all excited. We never knew who owned the tree, but not the City. It was large, a half of its roots in our property and the other half in our neighbor’s.
Time goes by. The tree got sick and sicker. Each spring, woodpeckers came to join spring concertos of ta-ta-ta. Each winter, the tree shredded dried branches allover places. But, in summers, it did provide us certain shades so that we could start evening BBQ sooner. We loved the tree despite its sickness.
Finally, the Great Ice Storm killed it in the end of year 2013. We, two property owners, decided to end its misery with the blessing of the City.
The first bunch of arborists were too expensive demanding unbelievable amount of money, so we had to find a cheaper crew. They were Koreans who could not speak English well. According to the comments of an old man who lived nearby, they were ‘illegal immigrants’. Well, the business was not illegal for sure, but the crew members might have been for we just did not really know. Regardless, the crew did a great job in a day and cut out trunks of fire woods for us with no extra charge.
Since then, we can enjoy our fireplace each winter. Thank you, our old Elmmy.