The Tree Assassin: Relocated
Whenever I think of tree trimming and felling, I recall my mother-in-law’s story of her next-door neighbor, who has subsequently been deemed “the tree assassin.” The details probably aren’t that interesting for most of you, but the sentiment is. People become protective of what is not theirs. They place value in nature, in trees — even if the growth is random and chaotic.
In 242mo’s case, the lot is bordered by two neighbors who have lived adjacent to their own personal park for quite some time. And now we’ll be putting down about two dozen trees — mostly green ash and boxelder — and one beautiful hackberry that’s placed dead-center in our structural footprint. Yes, we’ll be publicly stripping this harlot who has worn her Celtic woolen sweater much too long into the summer season. Nevertheless, I have a strange sense of guilt in doing this and stealing the shelter from the old lady to our west.
Now on to the important stuff: bids. After cutting down five 20-30 footers, Bella put the hammer down on me. Said I was being irresponsible because I didn’t know what I was doing and had two boys to think about. She’s kinda right.
We called three services: George Welles at Northeast Tree — a friendly, knowledgeable guy who oversells himself to the point of needing therapy. But, all the responses on Angie’s List were superb and I can see why. He’s thorough, honest, and pretty reasonably priced. Final price for taking out the trees on the retaining wall and on the arc: $3442, including tax.
Now, we were expecting to get quotes in the $7-10k range. So this was a delightful surprise, if you want to call dropping three grand on chopping down trees a pleasure.
Marvin Michlitsch, our contractor, recommended Michael Chase. Since we had all the trees tagged, he gave us a bid that was nearly the same as Georgie’s — but we didn’t know the details. That didn’t stop Shelley from offering him the job for $3000. I got testy about it. I mean, hell, she works for a prestigious law firm… it’s all about reviewing the details and defining what’s to be done, just in case. I’m glad she bargained, but let’s see what is written up first. Good god. So, now I’m meeting with the cat today.
Well, the third dude, “Bernie the tree trimmer,” he came highly recommended by my colleague. But when I called him I realized that he isn’t the right man for the job. He works a full-time job and does this on the side. He’s not bonded either. And since we needed to get moving for a May breaking ground date, I haven’t returned his calls. That’s a must-do for today.
