Happily Ever After...For Now

It took a UPS pilot, a Chevron engineer, an orthodontist, and a Dir. of Ops., but by golly, after lots and lots of planning and talking, they finally got the tree down. I am telling you, these guys could not have scripted it better.

Jon, our neighbor and resident UPS pilot, came over in the wee hours yesterday to help Eric with a quick fix to get the tree off the house (they used rope and tied it to other trees in order to temporarily pull the tree away from the house). Of course, immediately, the guys started forming a gameplan for later in the day. As you all know, Eric had contemplated climbing up on the roof and topping the tree, but that wasn't the best option.

After an $80 trip to Home Depot (I know, I'm thankful that's all it cost), Eric and Chet (our resident engineer) had put into play a plan that John and Eric had discussed much earlier in the day. They bought a ratchet and the idea was to try to ratchet the tree into an upright position and get it to a point they thought would be clear of the house and garage. Then, someone would take a chainsaw to the tree while the other guys stood in the distance and pulled the tree down into a predetermined spot.

As you could imagine, there were a lot of variables to consider. The main goal was to keep everyone safe and beyond that, to keep the house free from damage. Fortunately, there is a nice open spot between the two houses that are behind ours. The three major problems the guys could foresee were that the tree could land on our house as it fell, it could take out the neighbors vinyl fence or potentially most hazardous of all, it could land on the utility boxes that would be directly in the tree's path if it were to come down right where the guys were anticipating it would.

Considering the length of the tree, the guys didn't really have too many placement options for the tree as it landed. They decided they would pull it down and try to land it between the three utility boxes. The tallest box is the phone line, so we figured worst case, we would be without a landline for a few days. So, after more planning and still more talking, the guys finally decided to go for it. Fortunately, our neighbor Jon spent a summer cutting down trees in New Hampshire, so he had a little insight and experience. Although I'm sure Eric could have pulled it off himself, he decided to let Jon man the chainsaw.

Here's the tree in the upright position, as it's ratcheted off the house (it's the tallest tree in the picture).




Jon was so confident in his abilities that he expressed to Eric that it might be dangerous, but he could definitely do it (thanks, Jon that made me feel much better). Eric still opted to let him give it a go. Talk about pressure, poor Jon!



Here are the guys off in the distance pulling and getting ready to pull even more.



Jon's doing alright. Just another cut or two...........



Perfect landing. The tree didn't hit a thing other than the ground. The guys, amazingly (and just like pros), were able to bring it down right between all three utility boxes. They couldn't have planned it like this!



I guess the moral is, the better the planning, the better the result. Job well done, guys!

An Ode to Fall

I love the Fall season and all that comes with it...school starting, Logan's birthday, our wedding anniversary, Halloween, my birthday and Thanksgiving (which happen to be one and the same this year). I love the cool air, the colors, decorations and even the comfort foods associated with Fall. Did you notice, the "s" word is missing from my love of all things fall? That wasn't an ovesight on my part. I enjoy the snow, but snow is what winter is all about, not Fall!

I mentioned to someone here that I was looking forward to Fall. That statement was met with laughter. I was promptly told that in Alaska, we go straight from summer (HA HA, that's a joke) to winter. Here I am racking my brain, trying to remember the last time I saw the sun and now I'm being told there is no Fall!!!! Well my friends, my dear acquaintance was not kidding.

Now granted, we do not have snow at the lower elevations yet, but as of this morning, the local mountain tops have had their first dusting of snow. Frankly, after our summer, I'm almost ready for a little snow. I mean really, if we're going to have miserable weather it might as well be more than just overcast and dreary. The problem is, I don't think there is such thing as a little snow here.

I guess I'll continue to patiently wait for my one day of Fall. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to take a picture to remember that one glorious day. I'll soon be thinking about Fall as I put on my winter coat, gloves and hat and head out to blow the snow off the driveway.