As the Trees Fall . . . .

 

When you see the amazing equipment roll in and watch the workers go into action with total precision, you know right away that you'll be watching an elite, professional operation of tree removal.

That's what we observed all day yesterday as the crew from Oliver Tree Service, LLC worked from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., removing four of the eight dying poplar trees in our south lawn near the house. 

It was difficult for us to stay on task with our normal daily chores because we found watching the crew work like a well-oiled machine so fascinating. 

I marveled at the precision and timing of virtually every move made by the team which includes a young lady named Kelly from a well-known local logging family. 

It's dangerous work, and it's obvious that training has been extensive to avoid any possible accident, which could easily happen while stuffing huge limbs into a chipper or staying clear of segments of tree trunks headed for the ground. 

Ropes and head sets worn by each worker so that everyone clearly hears what happens next added total efficiency to the safety of the project.

Everyone knows their job and attends to it promptly, whether it's holding the ropes at the precise time while the sawyer in the bucket above removes each portion of the tree or cleaning up what hits the ground. 

Whatever drops to the ground is removed immediately to bags, the chipper or a trunk pile in the driveway where segments of the tree trunk are loaded at the end of the day to be hauled to company owner Ty Oliver's land.  

Dozens of plywood slabs are arranged on the lawn to protect it from equipment tracks. 

Bill and I usually kept our distance as the well-orchestrated procedures were carried out. 

In our observations throughout the day, however, it was always fun to see so many smiles as members of the crew coordinated with each other or worked individually to complete their assigned tasks.

Ty Oliver has assembled an amazing team to complete each job with perfection.  

I am gradually growing used to the scene with four remaining stumps from those tall trees and am thrilled that the periwinkle patch at the base of yesterday's trees was protected and left unscathed.  

Today's job looks a little more challenging, but we have no worries that this crew will maintain a high standard as they remove the four remaining trees. 

We're impressed, to say the least.  

Hope you enjoy the photos, and if you need trees removed, we would highly recommend Oliver Tree Service.  

Happy Tuesday. 

Monday Miscellany

 

It came quickly and intensely and it left just as quickly, but the landscape and buildings received a good dousing yesterday afternoon. 

They've become family.  

This trio can be found around the place several times on any given day.  

This morning, thanks to my flashlight,  I could see their beady eyes as they were bedded down in the pastures. 

I hope they can escape vehicles and bullets in the next several weeks. 

That number means that Annie has found 23,000 geocaches in just about every nook and cranny and means that one could imagine.  

Apparently, she reached the big number yesterday on an outing. 

She has not only found 23,000 geocaches in the last 20 or so years, but more importantly, she found the best job ever with her career at Groundspeak, Inc. in Seattle. 

Groundspeak, Inc. owns the geocaching.com website. 

Annie works with geocaching vendors around the world, and, yes, she does some traveling for her job and, of course, to find more geocaches. 

Congrats, Annie. 

The last time we ate at Jalapenos Restaurant was in March when we were celebrating my brother Kevin's 80th birthday.  

It was a festive and fun evening, enjoying family and good food and drinks. 

Jalapenos has been Kevin's favorite place to dine on his visits to Sandpoint, so, of course, it had to be the venue for his big celebration. 

Our family has had a long track record with Jalapenos, even back in the day when the restaurant was located on First Avenue. 

Bill and I were digging through our history minds this morning and agreed that the restaurant started where Baxter's is now and the Benoit Bootery a while back. 

Then, if we are correct, it moved to the old Bill Gill's Honda building before moving to its current location in the old Elks Club.  

Please correct me if any of our facts are wrong.  

Our daughter Annie worked at the restaurant for a time as a busser with some of the original staff, hired by original owner Chet French, training her and working with her. 

It's been quite a run, to say the least, and a popular place to gather. 

Shock waves went through the community yesterday when the announcement that Jalapenos was closing appeared on Facebook. 

I was so stunned at first that I thought that it might be an AI spoof.  

Apparently, it wasn't, as a Facebook friend whose daughter worked at the restaurant verified that the announcement was, indeed, true. 

If my observations are correct, the Jalapenos closing marks the third restaurant in the area to announce big changes in the past couple of weeks.  

Farmhouse in Ponderay has closed while I saw a few days ago that The Fat Pig in downtown Sandpoint is for sale. 

I don't know the reasons for these changes, but they don't suggest that all is going so well economically in our resort community. 

If that is the case, it's too bad and especially very sad to see a Sandpoint staple, which has provided a venue for so many festive family memories, close its doors. 

Speaking of big changes; they are happening as I type right outside our house. 

Ty Oliver and his crew showed up around 7 a.m. with equipment to remove the eight poplar trees immediately south of the house. 

They've laid out plywood to protect the lawn, and it sounds like some of the equipment is on its way to the trees. 

I've met the crew, who include the foreman, the groundsmen and the bucket brigade. 

Ty says he'll be around for a while but will leave to tend to another job. 

I guess I'm as mentally prepared as possible for those trees to go down.  

What will diminish their loss is knowing that about two thirds of the leaves I have to pick up in the fall will go with the trees. 

And, we have the opportunity to beautify the area after the trees are gone.

Plus, I've heard that the service does a beautiful job of tree removal.   

We are hoping to find a mountain ash tree or two for that area. 

In the meantime, it's gonna be busy around here for the next couple of days. 

Happy Monday. 

Ty Oliver, owner of Oliver Tree Service. 

https://olivertreeservicellc.com/

Rainy Day Mutterings

 

This little one spends almost as much time around our home as we do. 

Little Bambi knows right where the berries on the bushes are. 

I haven't been able to convince it to come over to me for a little loving. 

It's raining out there this morning, and the bush at the fence line for the Meserve Preserve offered a rather bucolic, peaceful scene. 

It's a soft rain and with relative warmth, I found it pleasant for my walk with Bridie through the woods. 

Yesterday's sunshine could have put a damper on my rainy-day projects, but I decided to do them anyway. 

Bill went to Grouse Creek to gather wood, so the dogs and I stayed home all day. 

One project led to another.  

The only problem: it's a rainy day, and I've done most of my planned projects. 

That's okay cuz I like having an empty schedule every once in a while. 

Plus, Netflix, thanks to Annie, is always there for us to enjoy.  

CB's knee puncture is looking much better each day. 

He had to have two antibiotics shots, and since the vets figure the best place for the shots is in the chest muscles, hematomas can form. 

So, CB suddenly developed quite the bosoms.  It's been uncomfortable for him, but this morning it looks like the hematoma is decreasing in size. 

He's been a good patient through it all. 

I'm relieved to see the progress. 

I've also tried to get the resident crows to be friends, but they keep their distance. 

The best show we have as we look out the new garden window happens when five or six crows and five or six squirrels get into tussles near the feeders and start chasing each other around the yard. 

It's hard to know the exact population because the action is fast as squirrels scurry and crows dive bomb.  

It's hilarious.

 

When I saw this video, felt the goosebumps from its pure beauty and dropped a tear or two, I wanted to share.  

So, here it is:  Jennifer Nettles singing "Go Rest High on That Mountain" at the 25th Anniversary ceremony honoring those lost in 9-11.  

Yesterday's harvest from the garden.  

Several times the deer have jumped inside my garden west of the barn and eaten most of the bean blossoms from my second crop of beans, but I still managed to pick the above yesterday.

The carrots also went into the saucepan with the beans, allowing us a yum yum vegetable side for last night's dinner. 

We've actually enjoyed lots of tasty items from this year's gardens. 

It's time, however, to take down the temporary fence next to the barn and let the deer and other hungry mouths feed on the leftovers.  

Guess that's all on this rainy, quiet day. 

Happy Sunday.