Good news/bad news
15We have dead elm trees at the east end of our house. We’ve known they should be taken down since July '17, when I was almost killed by a tree that fell at the west end of our house. [It’s not that dramatic, I was standing about 12-15 feet away, in the middle of a storm, wondering if I should go retrieve our floating garbage can, and then a gigantic tree fell down where I would have been walking had I gone.] The tree service that cut up that tree told us we should really take down the elms. We were like, sure, no rush, whatever. And did nothing about it. I told myself it’s OK because if the elms were anything like the tree that already fell, it would probably fall to the south and not hit our house or the power line. But I’ve been parking a little closer to the house and further away from the the tree.
Right. So, we’re kind of having a blizzard right now. Sort of. It’s been sleeting for hours and it’s supposed to turn into 6-10" of snow overnight. I’m sitting at the computer about an hour ago and hear a cracking sound and a thunk. I know what it is. It’s a damn tree. Next to my car, hopefully. I open the front door. Yes, it’s a giant tree all over the yard. It fell to the south, not on the house or the power line. Did it land on my car? No, it’s literally a foot away from my car. (I took pictures because that sounds like an exaggeration. It’s not.)
So, the good news is that this really cuts down on the shoveling I’ll have to do. The bad news is that a tree is obscuring approximately 25% of our semi-circular driveway and will probably be pricey to have removed from under 6-10" of snow. The other good news is that I still have an intact car (for the time being; the future is uncertain and I don’t like to tempt fate) and a good picture. The other bad news I guess is that I’ll have to rethink how to shovel the driveway and I am a creature of habit.
I just want to put thanks out there because this could have been a lot worse. I suppose it could still get worse, but I’m still thankful.
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This was our tree situation. Not nearly as dramatic.
@jst1ofknd It’s dramatic enough!
@mossygreen
Mine was just a dead branch. I’m looking forward to seeing a dead tree fallen in the snow.
@jst1ofknd - A dead branch once fell off a tree onto my wife’s car. A high wind must’ve taken it off because if it had fallen straight from the tree it would’ve landed ten feet from the car.
Instead it fell right across the roof, damaging the roof and the frame on both sides and costing more than the car’s (used) value in repairs!
Glad you’re okay.
Seems like insurance should help if it costs a lot to remove from the driveway.
@kdemo I’m not sure, because of our massive flood in '17. I know we can’t make any claims for a few years, but don’t remember if it’s anything or just flooding.
@kdemo @mossygreen Flood insurance is usually a separate thing, so I’d ask.
This is a tree stump POV (not really) with some action snowflakes. You can see how close the trunk is to my car.
@mossygreen Yikes! – but good to hear you, your house, and your cars are fine.
@mossygreen that is one big elm and one lucky car! Glad that everything’s okay (except for the annoyance of dealing with a big dead tree in the yard). Maybe the snow won’t be as bad as forecast.
@mossygreen I think you did exaggerate: that looks more like about 14 inches, than a foot. ;>)
But glad it wasn’t minus 14 inches from the end of your car!
On the bright side, it’s a great time of the year to have more firewood. You can remove it a piece at a time, that way.
@mossygreen So this is near miss #2? Have you considered buying lottery tickets? They say that the third time is the charm, and you could pay for snow and tree removal both with your winnings.
@fait @mossygreen You suggest he should buy lottery tickets so he what…loses because his numbers are all 1 off the actual?
@fait @tightwad Honestly, it’s all so tree-specific that I suspect the luck won’t transfer outside of the yard.
@mossygreen are you anywhere near eastern Iowa? I love burning elm!
@JnKL Gee, it’s all about context, isn’t it? I’m outside of Chicago, so technically no, I am nowhere near Iowa, yet, compared to most of the rest of the country, I’m pretty close to eastern Iowa. That being said, I’m not sure what killed the tree and it may be something that could be spread through storage, so I cannot in good conscience encourage its use as firewood.
@phendrick Ahem. I couldn’t quite figure out where to hold the yardstick.
@mossygreen @phendrick You sure you didn’t back up the car 2 inches
Glad it missed it though. That would have been the last thing you needed if it hadn’t.
Yup. It’s gonna cost you now. Unfortunately. We had about a 50’ tree come down a couple yrs ago and my husband happened to be outside doing Tai chi. He had to beat feet, it came down right where he was, took out the table, 1 chair, new birdbath, part of the satellite dish and just the gutter on the corner of the house. Gladly, it did not get him. He was glad it missed the house (by the width of said gutter). I said… had it been just a few inches over, I’d have gotten my new patio doors I’d been wanting. Got friends with chain saws??? Pizza, beer and guys. That’ll fix it. Only… no beer until the job is done!
There are a variety of species of elm, but around here taking down a @ 100’ tree costs a couple grand. Chopping it up on the ground should be a HUGE savings.
@aetris Yup… it costs around here too. I also know a few people that run those types of businesses and they all 3 (different companies) told me they price a job after sizing up the people’s home, property and vehicle. If they think they have $… the price goes up.
@lseeber Why not? Beer before is fun…
@Raider Well… I guess it depends on how much excitement one wants in their day.
Darwin is probably taking applications for this yrs top 10.
@lseeber @Raider if it’s a gas powered chainsaw, wouldn’t the chain only engage when pulling the trigger? I mean, it’s stupid either way.
@lseeber @Raider @RiotDemon unless the chain lock is engaged, when the gas engine starts, the chain starts spinning!
@RiotDemon They usually idle high when you first start them, so the chain goes to spinning and a good pace till you tap the throttle. That is unless the chain brake is on, however with it pressed against him like that it’ll turn that brake off.
@sykl0ps thanks. It’s been a while since I’ve used a gas powered chainsaw. I have an electric one. Obviously it’s not the same.