Sunday, June 15, 2008

The tree.

We had a horrible pine tree in our front yard. ;-) I've hated the thing since we moved in. It dropped needles year round, preventing anything from growing beneath it, it was full of sap and pollen.....that it liked to drop all over our cars, and it was just an ugly sight! There were two good things about that tree....the shade it cast on the living room window, and the hummingbird nest I got to watch last spring.....we actually saw the mommy/daddy build the nest, lay eggs, hatch, grow, then fly away.....it was pretty awesome. We'd always talked about taking it down, but we were afraid to because of the hot sun. Well, we finally just decided to do it.....mostly because we're trying to re-vamp the front yard. The Johnson kids (mostly Vala) expressed their sadness (the Johnson's are my nieces and nephews that grew up in this house, and played in that tree all the time.....it was a great climbing tree.....Neeka even 'ran away' to the tree one night) for the removal of the tree, but I'm pretty sure they'll get over it. ;-)

So, I called Dave's Tree Service (highly recommended) to come take the tree out. Three days before they were scheduled to come, Jonesy came over and said he wanted the (fire)wood from the tree, so he and Adam then decide they can do it! Yikes! I was not looking forward to that...though it was much cheaper...free! I canceled with Dave, and had a great time watching the guys (manly men) take the wretched thing down! I can't upload video right now (but I will), the thing had so much pollen in it, if you had allergies you would probably have died if you were anywhere near it!


The Terrible Tree
It was difficult to get a pic, I was holding Squirrel, looking into the sun, and trying to work the camera at the same time.
How do you work this thing?
We'll just cut to the chase! It's almost gone!!
Bye bye tree!! Look at that mess! I was very concerned that we would be filling our yard debris bin for the next couple of months trying to get the brush cleaned up. Thank goodness the guys cut the firewood, loaded up the brush and took it to Jonesy's dad's house and threw it in his burn pile! The only thing I did (to help) was sweep the driveway!
You might notice the new retaining wall!! I'll do another post on that....when I get the chance.

So, the tree couldn't leave without giving us some problems.
He's hacking away at the dang thing. Adam is so awesome. ;-)
Oh surprise!! I broke a pipe under my stump! (I'll post the video of the stump removal when I can) He's pretty sure it's a rain drain.....fun, one more thing to work on.
Digging it up.
Notice the concrete block!! There was a metal (Adam thinks maybe stainless steel) pipe connected to the plastic (?) pipe. Well, they didn't exactly fit together so whoever laid them poured concrete over the elbow to 'fit' them together and prevent leakage. What a retarded jerk!!


Using the jack hammer thingy to break up the concrete! Poor Adam. :-(
The stupid pipe!

Lots of concrete!


I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a husband that can do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! The guy is pretty amazing. He got all the right parts, cut the steel pipe, fit the elbow on correctly, tossed the broken pipe.....totally fixed it up! Way to go Adam!!!
All done! He sure loved that pipe!! Lol!

Next up.....the dry rot he found a little while ago. What a pleasant surprise! Just below the vent you can see the dip in the roof.

10 comments:

Genevieve said...

Well done Kriss clan...uh, Adam I mean! It looks good...are you going to replant anything for shade's sake?

Shellee said...

We're planning on it. Any ideas? It's going to have to be near the driveway and sidwalk...not too close though. So, we need a small root diameter, full and shady in the summer and naked in the winter (to let the sun in).....oh, and it needs to grow fast so we don't have to wait 10 years! ;-)

Anonymous said...

WOW! Talk about bragging rights!! "My husband is stronger than your husband!"

Loy said...

crap!! That was a new roof when you moved in!! I'm sorry I feel bad.

Shellee said...

My husband probably IS stronger than your husband Juju! ;-p~ Although, your husband could kick my husband's rear when it comes to computer crap.

It's not your fault Di, Adam thinks that whoever put the vent in didn't seal it correctly so it leaked, causing the dry rot. At least it's at the bottom of the slope, so he only has to fix a small part. ;-)

Rachel said...

Wow, what a trooper! My husband would of had many um, "words" beyond those 2 fingers for that one, haha. I am not a fan of pine trees either...Sorry it was such a nightmare!

Anonymous said...

Hanging bamboo shades work as a temporary fix. There are also awnings that can be retracted. You might have to change the path to the front door. OTOH our summer may have already come and gone. aunt b

Shellee said...

No kidding! Not much of a summer so far, huh? Yeah, we really need to plant something....and Adam does have a plan for a path to the front door. We'll see how it turns out. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Judging from the back patio path gazebo thingey he has ab eye for proportion and the back for work. That is rare!
ab

Anonymous said...

He has 'an eye'. Guess I should read BEFORE I publish, eh?