Pruning Rodeo

I shared with you a few weeks ago about how I was pruning my tree in the back yard. Here is a link to my post about when I started pruning the tree.    

I then shared a post about how after a week or more of pruning a few hours or more each day, how I was almost knocked out of the tree by a branch that hit the ground and kicked back splitting the branch sending it back towards me and hit me in the chest. 

I had to call Princess Five to come rescue me from the top of the ladder as I held the branch, saw and held onto the tree to keep from being pushed back from the tree by the branch. It gave me a bruise for a week. Here is the post about that. 

After my near fall experience while pruning the tree, I decided that I needed some help. I knew I needed someone to get the top branches as they were hanging over the house and I was worried that they would fall on the house if there was a heavy wet snow. 

I called a friend that used to do our lawns as a teen who does trees now. He said he promised his wife he wouldn't do the high branches anymore as they have kids. I thought that was smart of him. He suggested another friend that I know does lawns but I guess he has branched (no pun intended) out to do trees. 
 
I had him come and he said he would get back with me as he had a few bids in on trees in the area and how he would need to rent a "bucket" truck. 

He had a baby about then and his little one was in the hospital for awhile and then another of his children got sick so I never heard back. I did check in with him again and he said he still hadn't heard back about the bids.

I hoped that I had cut enough of the tree off that if it snowed the weight wouldn't have it come down. I prayed sharing with God that if it needed more pruning, that He send someone to help as I had called two people and I had taken lots off tree so I just gave that burden to Him as I have been busy as you can tell by my blog posts.

A morning or two after my prayer, I heard cutting noises outside. I thought someone was in the yard and thought maybe the guy I was waiting on just showed up. I looked out and my neighbor that has some Alzheimer had someone pruning her trees.  

The company had their own bucket truck. I was busy that day and forgot about talking to them but the next morning, they were over there finishing up raking etc. I prayed saying "If I do need my tree pruned more, if they are still there when I head out, I will ask them about pruning my tree." 

When I went out, they had just finished and the worker was waiting for his boss to come back. I asked about a bid on the tree and got the bosses number. The boss said he would look at it and call me back. He wanted $200 to just cut what I had left and leave it for me to clean up. When I had the whole tree done before, it was $250 and they took everything away. 

It was years ago but still, I mentioned that I had pruned much of it and needed four big branches dropped but I would cut and clean up and asked if he would do it "today" for $100 since they were in my yard basically. He said $150 and I countered at $125 and he said he would do it. 

I was out but they called me less than 2 hours later and it was done. I met them and paid him $130 thanking him for getting it done so quickly. We visited for some time and I was VERY grateful to God for answering my prayer and grateful that my neighbor called them to do her tree. At Christmas I took over some treats and she mentioned she wanted her apple tree pruned saying I had inspired her with my tree. 

I was surprised she remembered me doing it as she is quite forgetful. I was even more shocked that she called and had someone come do it. 

The tree man even commented that he was surprised that she called as she has "lost her mind" and he didn't think she was going to call him. 

I really think an angel made her call that man so that he would be there to do my tree. I have been out there for three days cleaning up branches, cutting branches, bundling branches, raking the stuff left behind and I still have a days work out there. 
 
On the first afternoon, I worked for hours, I had a friend come and bring four children, Princess five and her friend helped and my friend I mention in this post about helping her prune and clean up her tree. She is the one who showed me the reciprocating saw that has been so helpful in pruning and cutting up the branches.

The little boy was so cute, he was riding the branches like a bucking bronc and I had to get a video. His sister was walking the branches like a tight rope walker. The next oldest was in the top of the tree in no time. It was fun having little ones around as they were so motivated as I made them in "charge" of certain things and that was "their" area of expertise. One hauled cut logs, one raked etc. They were such good workers.

I worked late in the darkness the first night but had an out of town trip the next day and imagine how wonderful it was to come home and find out that my friend brought the four kids back and they worked for a few hours and had gotten lots more bundled and raked up. 

Princess Five and I went out and spent a good few hours until well after dark again taking the bundles out to the curb for the trash men, I cut all the logs that were smaller into burning wood, she hauled it all to the back area and dumped the loads to be stacked later and we still have a good few hours left on clean up and I still need to prune the back branches a bit more and clean up a few of my bad cuts that they didn't fix when they were here. 

I am so blessed with good  friends who so willingly gave of their time. I still have some men from my church coming with some chain saws on Saturday morning to cut up the ten huge trunk pieces that are too large to cut with my little saw. I thought about starting up my chain saw but I'd have to go buy the oil mixture and I really don't want to deal with it so I am going to let them come and help with that. I don't think it would take ten minutes with two saws. I hope to have the rest all done tomorrow as I want to have the trash men take it so I don't have it sitting for another week in case it snows, I just want it gone.
 
I am also very grateful for my guardian angels who prompted my sweet Alzheimer neighbor to call the tree pruning man and for them prompting me to hire him and prompting him to do the job for what I could afford. I am most grateful for my Heavenly Father who let me know that the tree needed to be pruned as I haven't given it a second glance in 16 years or so. It would have been so much worse if it had come down on its own, especially as their is a bedroom just under that biggest branch. I know my Heavenly Father loves me and takes care of his daughters just as my earthly father does. I feel truly blessed to be able to take another thing of my ever expanding "to do" list.