A Hanging Tree Branch on the Wires!

I spent extra time last week preparing for another Sunday afternoon for Garden-Viewers. Hoping and thinking that the ones who could not come the Sunday before might show up this time. However my hopes and discouragement rose and fell from day to day.

Then on Saturday - late afternoon - I came out the back door to see a large branch from the tall elm on the left, broken and hanging by a short branch forking away from the main branch where it had broken from the tree. The bottom of this big branch, consisting of a number of medium and smaller branches dangled over and just inches from the garden sidewalk.

This had happened a few years ago, so I did what I did then, I went inside and phoned my cousin Gary to come deal with it. He murmured something about coming soon, but he didn't show up.

I went out to study it again, and realized that I should be grateful that the power and phone lines had not broken, but how long would they hold up under the weight of this big branch?

I took a rake and tried to lift it up nearer to the top so that short branch of about 8 inches could rise above the wires and then the whole thing could be on the ground shortly. (Sigh!) But I was not tall enough, and didn't have the strength to lift the whole bunch of branches those few inches.

When it was getting to be dusk, and no sign of Gary yet, I decided to start the sprinkler at the far end of the yard, because I had meant to water the garden well. Then I came back to the hanging branch, and started breaking some of the smaller ones with my hands. It turned out they were quite dry and brittle. Some of the medium sized branches were too tough for me to break by hand, but I got out a lot or even all of the smaller ones that I could reach.

When I couldn't break any more I gathered up the loose ones on the garden dirt, and piled them up beyond the black composter (which I never use) and beside the old fridge planter. That heap was about as high as my knees by the time I got that done. And by then I was working by the light of my motion-sensitive yard-light.

Finally, I was running out of ideas, but glad that I had lightened the load on the wires. I moved the sprinkler a couple of times to get most of the garden watered, and then gave up and went to bed. I rather hoped that Gary would show up on Sunday afternoon, but I wasn't sure that any other guests would like to see this mess. If they didn't come... it was okay.

Sunday morning I had to tiptoe around the hanging branch in the still wet garden dirt, and get off to church. There I met several friends and cheerfully invited them to come see my garden, though I mentioned the hanging branch, which I hoped would be taken down soon by Gary.

When I returned home and came out through the tent/Garage slit - I stopped short! The branch was down! I looked around. How had Gary got into the yard? I went to unlock the side gate as it was 1 pm and I'd done that last week so people didn't have to get discouraged if I didn't answer the door bell.

After a quick muffin lunch I came out again to study the situation. Then I heard my neighour to the west come out his back door and in a minute he was at the fence. He asked if that branch had been there already when I left for church.

I answered, "No, it was hanging there yesterday already, but all I could do was break off the smaller branches. I was just puzzled as to how my cousin Gary had got in during the morning to take it down."

Andrew answered, "Well, no, it was me. I climbed over the fence and took it down!" He seemed really concerned for my safety. I thanked him heartily, and mentioned that now I just had to figure out how to dispose of the branches.

"I wouldn't mind having it for firewood," he said almost timidly.

"You have a fireplace?" I asked in surprise. He replied that they have a firepit in the backyard. (Ah, yes, I'd seen that. When they have visitors over, they sit around it in the evening... tho' I'm not sure if they were roasting marshmallows.) I assured him that he was welcome to these branches.

Well, he came around through my open gate and he lifted up the larger branch he had leaned against the other elm tree, carried it closer to the wooden fence between our properties, and pitched it over to the other side.

I pointed out the pile I had made the night before, and got the rusty old wheelbarrow Gary had left me some years ago. But then Andrew decided it would be quicker if he just threw them over the fence too.

I took a photo on Saturday of the branch on the wires, but it was too late. The photo is all black. I got two photos taken on Sunday afternoon while I was puzzling over how it came down.

Yesterday was a showery kind of day, but I will try the rest of this week to take time to gather up all the small twigs, and sweep the sidewalk.

One friend showed up after 7 pm, and we had a good visit as we walked around in the garden, and she was pleased at the wonderful help that God had provided regarding that branch.

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