This is not about Christmas trees, but getting rid of two trees that outstayed their welcome. When we moved here eight years ago, I liked having the two Bradford pear trees bursting with white blooms in Spring and parading colorful leaves in Autumn. They lost a bit of appeal when a large limb fell toward the house. Neighbor Jeff and his wife cleaned up the mess, donating the burnable wood to a relative. John painted the wound on the tree, and life went on. A few years passed, and I read that Bradford pears were no longer welcome. They were brought here in the 1960s and became popular with developers and home-owners. It seems they are invasive, the seeds being spread by birds, and are pushing out native trees. A few states are going to ban their sale in the next year or so. Ours kept on growing. It was easy to see that they could easily fall on the house. Their days were numbered.

I had an appointment and didn’t get home until after the first tree was felled and removed. This photo shows the tree man getting ready to cut the second one.

David and I enjoyed watching the men feed the branches into a machine to make wood chips. Then they cut the trunk in pieces and threw them in the back of the truck. I was impressed with their cleanup. They raked all the twigs, putting them in the truck, and blew the sawdust to disperse it.

Now the house is clearly visible from the street.