Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[Too Tall]

Thursday grump - Hi, my name is Too Tall and I'm headed to Philly Bike Expo and won't be standing behind a table selling stuff and parking is a nightmare. That's it the best I could muster.

Sorry Dustin, that's just awful. You should be grumpy.

[Saab2000]

Thursday grump - Hi, my name is Too Tall and I'm headed to Philly Bike Expo and won't be standing behind a table selling stuff and parking is a nightmare. That's it the best I could muster.

Sorry Dustin, that's just awful. You should be grumpy.

I thought about going to Philly. Then I found a paid trip in my work to visit my mom and both of my natural brothers at the same time in Minneapolis. That’s gonna happen instead. I have fond memories of my one and only Philly Bike Expo visit. Hopefully again. Family wins this time. Hope to see the Bike Expo in the future. Still rocking the NFS oil and grease in my world in Chicago.

[ides1056]

Dustin- I spent a dozen years caring for my aunt, my favorite relative. Her in a nutshell: after she died her sister told me that when my mother was giving birth to my brother she heard Suky in the next room- maybe ten years old- repeating to herself, “ aunt Suky, aunt Suky.” I spent the last nine days of her life up all night with her caregiver until her last breath. Bar none the best thing I have ever done. Suky called my sister to tell her she was dying. Twice. No return call. Four am the night she died my brother texts from Mexico where he has gone on holiday, wanting “updates,” then her bank account pin.
My sister layed into me via email some time later- I was executor and trustee- and I told her she did not get it, we are done, done, done.

[72gmc]

Thursday grump: I remember this interview. How is it 30 years old?

[bironi]

DJ was sure an easy interview.
Thanks, my first viewing.
Guy, seemed to enjoy life.

[bigbill]

The house we bought in Wyoming has a large but neglected yard. The previous owners were older, the husband died late last year, and the wife moved in with their kids. Trees were overgrown, a vine had taken over the fences, and the large tree in front had large limbs less than a foot from the roof. The front tree was professionally trimmed with the limbs removed in sections to protect the roof. The backyard has two trees that grew over the property line, partially blocking the alley. Together, my wife and I have five chainsaws, but my favorite is the Ego electric 16" which is much quieter and with a sharp chain, is as good as any gas one we have. I have cleared the alley and removed the vines off the fence. For the other trees I raised the canopy by removing the lowest limbs. Now I have a large pile of tree limbs and vines in the backyard. Today, a guy is bringing his large dump trailer to haul it all off and it rained all night. It's going to be messy, and with temps in the 40s, cold. This weekend is in the 70s and I hope to finish up the backyard with my Ego mower and string trimmer. I love the location of this house and I hope getting the yard in a manageable state will free up more time for cycling and fishing.

[markh]

tree - 1.jpeg
$2700 to take down a beautiful 100 year old Silver Maple.
Def made me grumpy!

[bigbill]

I think my tree was $800 but they only cut it back to remove limbs over the roof. The guy who cuts the trees around here is an arborist so he tries to make the trees healthier by trimming them. He has a 20' dump trailer with high sides so I'm hoping today will be dry enough to haul off my handy work in the back yard. The county dump has a separate section for yard waste but the road to reach it gets muddy. My next project is the removal of a bunch of Russian olives, an invasive species, from our property outside town. The first step is to use the box blade to create a burn pit because the only way to eliminate those noxious trees is with fire. No tree company with a chipper will touch them.

[j44ke]

tree - 1.jpeg
$2700 to take down a beautiful 100 year old Silver Maple.
Def made me grumpy!

I'll cut it down for half that but I can't guarantee where it will land.

[rec head]

Bill all this talk of land and you haven't mentioned building a pump track yet.

[72gmc]

Bill all this talk of land and you haven't mentioned building a pump track yet.

This! As we daydreamed about property during the pandemic, I lobbied my wife with the potential of certain plots to support a pump track and tractor activities.

[beeatnik]

tree - 1.jpeg
$2700 to take down a beautiful 100 year old Silver Maple.
Def made me grumpy!

Now I’m grumpy that I paid $5k in the 90s. And even grumpier that my neighbor used an unlicensed crew, didn’t pull a permit and removed a mature camphor tree which protected my Western exposure. Prolly paid $1k

[72gmc]

Now I’m grumpy that I paid $5k in the 90s. And even grumpier that my neighbor used an unlicensed crew, didn’t pull a permit and removed a mature camphor tree which protected my Western exposure. Prolly paid $1k

I’m not here to foment strife in your neighborhood, but was your neighbor’s action legal? My town has a history of people (usually well-heeled people) creating stumps where they had no right to do so.

[beeatnik]

I’m not here to foment strife in your neighborhood, but was your neighbor’s action legal? My town has a history of people (usually well-heeled people) creating stumps where they had no right to do so.

Not legal. We have a city arborist and a permit is required for any intervention on a tree with a trunk diameter greater than 12 inches. Another neighbor scalped his sycamore at 7am on a Sunday to avoid pulling a permit. Cops showed up but they couldnt fine or halt, only delay the work until 9am (work hours are 9am-3pm on Sundays.) as code enforcement takes the weekend off.

[72gmc]

Not legal. We have a city arborist and a permit is required for any intervention on a tree with a trunk diameter greater than 12 inches. Another neighbor scalped his sycamore at 7am on a Sunday to avoid pulling a permit. Cops showed up but they couldnt fine or halt, only delay the work until 9am (work hours are 9am-3pm on Sundays.) as code enforcement takes the weekend off.

Ugh. I’m married to a master gardener with a thing for trees, so I am well aware of local trees that show evidence of a schmuck with a sawzall.

[markh]

Not legal. We have a city arborist and a permit is required for any intervention on a tree with a trunk diameter greater than 12 inches. Another neighbor scalped his sycamore at 7am on a Sunday to avoid pulling a permit. Cops showed up but they couldnt fine or halt, only delay the work until 9am (work hours are 9am-3pm on Sundays.) as code enforcement takes the weekend off.

It killed me to remove this tree as it was 100ish years old.
Hired an arborist first hoping to save it but apparently when Silver Maple start getting diseased, game over.
Probably started abour 40+ years ago when someone didn't maintain the tree and the third trunk came down in a snow/windstorm :(

[beeatnik]

Ugh. I’m married to a master gardener with a thing for trees, so I am well aware of local trees that show evidence of a schmuck with a sawzall.

They caught me off guard. A crew member approached me as I was pulling in my driveway to assure me that he would be responsive to any noise issues or complaints. At that point the tree was half butchered. It didnt occur to me that they were murdering a protected tree until they were pulverizing the roots. A year before a neighbor across the street applied for a permit to remove a larger camphor. The tree had raised or warped the street and curb. Removal was denied by the arborist forcing the neighbor to spend $25k to saw down the tree’s above surface roots, trench 10 feet into the street and rebuild the curb. I found out later that the gipsy crew had been canvassing the block for a week offering affordable tree care.

Markh, neighbor’s camphor was over 100 years old. That’s ancient in LA!

[sbornia]

My mother passed away on Tuesday, 48 hrs. after I found her in a bad way at her home. Sudden but not entirely surprising. Now feels kind of surreal.

[72gmc]

I'm sorry for your loss, sbornia.

[Clyde]

Condolences Sir.