The Arborist Story – Take 7 – A Fool

Welcome back. If you are joining us for the first time, we are talking about tree trimming and me being a fool. I made a poor choice to cut down a 100′ oak tree myself. Well, not actually by myself, but with the help of a dear and gutsy neighbor. We got the tree down, but not without some drama. Let’s pick up where we left off. You are welcome to check out the previous blog posts on this story.

I couldn’t take the lonely stump anymore, so I went back across to my neighbor’s house and asked him if he would be willing to help me take the stump down. I still had my rope, which would come in handy, and I would rent the chain saw again.

It shouldn’t take too long to take it down, cut it up, and move the pieces to the side of the yard.

Oh my goodness – WHO WAS I KIDDING! I MEAN REALLY NOW.

‘Oh sure, I’ll throw these limbs around like twigs. You wait and see.’

If you believe that one, “I have some oceanfront property in Arizona….from my front porch you can see the sea, I’ve got some….” You get the picture by now.

The Bible talks about fools, and when they do, my picture has been beside it at times.

Proverbs 12:15 says this, The way of the fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” In this case, a woman. Lets’ cut to the chase –  I didn’t listen to advice. I was definitely a fool.

My neighbor agreed to help me again. We chose a Saturday, and of course, my boyfriend is M I A again. I don’t really blame him at this point. He did the wood chipping and moved stuff around. But this stump stuff was more than he could handle. Personally, I think he was afraid we would set the neighborhood on fire this time.

We rented the chain saw and began the task of setting ourselves up, planning what our move would be.

You get one move with a tall stump, so things had to be mapped out ahead of time. We planned to have the tree fall to the left, parallel to the fence behind it. It would avoid my shed on the right. It would avoid the fence to the back, and it would miss the pool pad I had started for my above ground pool. If you recall, the whole reason for removing this tree was because of the above ground pool. I didn’t want all the leaves in the pool and the roots under the pool.

My neighbor scurried to the top of the stump. Now mind you, it was about 50 feet high. He tied the rope off toward the top and scurried back down once it was secure. This time he gave me the job of cutting the tree. I was so excited. He would hold the rope, pull on the tree as it came down, and together, we would yell “TIMBER!”

Great plan, sweaty palms, and nothing left to do, but implement it and put it into action. I made sure my small daughter stayed in the house playing with her toys. I didn’t want anyone getting concerned when they heard a loud thud from the tree hitting the ground.

This fool fired up the chain saw. Oh, the sweet pleasure of cutting down this tree would soon be mine, that was until…

Come back tomorrow, and I’ll tell you what happened. This really should have been made into a silent movie.

Lord, help this fool. Your word is full of verses on wisdom and fools. I need to read them more often when it comes to making decisions. Father, lead me there and guide me in your ways so that I can bring glory to you. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

In His Service

Jeanette

The Arborist Story – Take 6

Bridge to Grace – a nonfiction novel

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