Lumberjacked

Yesterday afternoon at 4:30, I got an e-mail from Hubs.

He wanted to cut down a tree.

The tree's been on its way out for the past year, it's small and our neighbor was looking to split the cost ($300) of a wood chipper rental this weekend. With rain and snow expected later this week, that meant the tree had to go last night.

So, at 6:00, we lumberjacked.

And when I say "we," I mean we had the whole crew:

 Hubs and the neighbor.

 Trip, the foreman of all our projects, and Niles, the cat with ADD.

And me, in mismatched socks and no work shoes. I'm pretty sure this is how the pros do it.

The guys started by taking off the big limbs, which was pretty easy. Things got trickier when it came to the trunk. So, they did what any self-respecting lumberjack would do - they Googled.

The tree fell in the exact opposite direction we had planned, but it didn't hit anything and I did a full-on sweep of that neighbors' yard to remove any trace of the foliage carnage that had taken place.

Also, I'm bringing them brownies this weekend, so I can't imagine anyone would have any ill will here.

The tree parts are now piled up neatly in our front yard, awaiting the chipper on Friday.

It's amazing how not different the "after" is. The tree didn't have leaves last year, so it was pretty see-through and now that it's gone, I don't even miss it. Also, it was too dark for a decent after picture.

Oh, and the indestructible manicure I got Sunday? Totally held up to me hauling branches and twigs for two hours. If that's not a proper test, I don't know what is! I'm a shellac convert.