Timber!!!!!!

Talk became action this week as the trees came a-tumbling down!  There was the rain delay and then the hopes that a few days of sunshine would help firm up the water saturated earth.  Monday was a holiday so Tuesday was game day.   I had to go to the dentist so I was out of the house early- but who could resist a drive by on the way to work to see if they had shown up yet.  As I crawled by the house in a manner reminiscent of when my mom would drive by my shop at a snail pace (like I didn't see her), I craned my neck to see that there were a lot of big trucks in the yard.  There was a lot of commotion between the guys.  It looked to me like the ground was still a bit squishy and the trucks were not as agile as they could be.  Not wanting to be too obvious I continued on my way..... but called Dave to see what was going on.  He said that the trucks were spinning their wheels a bit and that the body language he saw from the window indicated that they were none too happy about it.

Soft earth caused a lot of smooshy ruts in the yard. 

Another call a few hours later gave the report that 3 of the trees had come down, one hitting the fence- oops.  That was not the worst of it, another call (this time Dave called me) to say that a big limb had come down on the hood of one of the workers trucks.  Now that's a bummer that can't be fixed with a few spare pickets.  I am sure by the time they left for the day they were in a foul temper.  It was already a difficult job under optimal conditions- a fence, a slope and a stone wall to deal with- but not being able to maneuver your truck to where it needed to go was a challenge!

Day 2 seemed to go smoother and all the rest of the trees came down on that side of the yard.  The only excitement was the arrival of our neighbor who was "hopping mad" and claimed that the hill would now fall down without the trees.  Now wouldn't that be interesting????  I half expected a phone call after she went to the building office to complain but so far there has been no fallout.....

When I arrived home that night it was already dark so I could not really see the yard. I could almost see the area where the walnut tree had stood.  I felt like I had lost a relative.  I looked into the night sky and could see far more of the stars and moon than ever before.  As I looked upwards at our new view a shooting star crossed the sky.  I won't tell you what I wished for but I know that it will come true in some manner.

Here's a picture of the last glimpse of the walnut tree from down the yard.

A farewell glance at the walnut tree

Goodbye friend....

This is what the tree looks like now :-(

The remainder.....

sniff sniff

Now when I look out of my little office window, I don't see the bark of the tree and I don't see "Nuttie" the little nuthatch that was often zipping up and down the side of the tree upside down.  I will miss you both but I do look forward to what is to come.  But wait a minute....  there is a tiny little woodpecker out side of the window peering into a hole in the eves.  He's very cute but maybe not the kind of tenant we want to share the house with?????  OK, now in the last few minutes I have seen a sparrow and a starling.  Is it an open house today in my eves?

The walnut tree is now at the saw mill drying out.  We have decided to make a very large dining room table and a kitchen cabinet out of the wood.  If there is wood remaining we will think of more projects for it.  So, while not standing outside of my house, the tree will soon be inside and remain part of the family!

Lots of work for Dave to cut all this into firewood for next year!