Where Trees and People Come Together

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it still make a sound?  It's an age-old question that can be answered in many ways depending on how you choose to analyse it.

Owl Nesting in Tulip Tree Cavity

When a tree falls in the forest, nature continues on with business as usual, animals shelter in the debris, arthropods, fungi and bacteria get down to the business of breaking down all that organic material, and the rich black layer of humus grows.  It's an ancient process, and it goes on without any input from us.

But what does it mean when humans and trees occupy the same space?  It means a lot.  We love to modify our environment. In fact for our lives as we live them now, it's a necessity. Trees provide raw materials for building, we plant them and care for them to create the kind of environment that we want to live, work and play in.  But we really change their lives, don't we?  we grade and compact the soil, we take away all the valuable litter that they used to recycle, we plant them where they don't want to be and say "GROW!"

We love trees....BUT

BUT "It's too big"
BUT "It drops leaves/fruit/bark"
BUT "I'm scared it will fall on my house"
BUT "It's growing lopsided"



And that's where I am needed, where trees and people exist together. That means more than just getting a crane and a crew on short notice to get the tree that ripped through a  new client's roof in a storm, it's giving her a hug and telling her it's going to be OK  it's taken care of , giving her a moment of calm before she has to face the insurance adjuster.  It's changing a light bulb for a client who is too old and frail to do it when you're there to estimate a tree job, and then she shows you the birthday card her and her best friend have been sending back and forth since before you were born.

It's about keeping the trees on a client's property healthy and growing, so they can do all the things they love in their yard, and feel safe doing it.  It's evaluating a historic tree with problems, and helping people to hold onto that piece of history that means so much to them.

To take your relationship with trees to a new level, visit Davey Tree Experts or Contact Me!

Still some winter left? Maybe, Maybe Not

 I seem to remember as a child in the Hudson Valley, there was always snow, and lots of it every winter.  Perhaps it was just the selective memory of childhood, but it seems to me decades later, that winter has become unpredictable. 

Snow fall forecasts despite models, maps, and professional opinions still can be summed up with the sarcastic statement "we're getting somewhere between a dusting and a foot."

There seems to be no substitute for looking out the window, or using a similar real-time weather recording device like the venerable weather rock.

When your work is affected  by weather you start to get a little crazy.  You're looking at 20 different weather blogs, listening to the radio, watching the TV, trying to make the right descision, and you know what? You still might as well flip a coin, or ask a groundhog.

So relax........ and hope we get to see some more beatiful snow covered landscapes like this before spring comes and we're off to the races!