The Calm Before the Storm

Quiet Sunday morning, I love them! Pancakes, coffee, that large empty newspaper waiting to be read (and recycled). But that quiet will soon be invaded by the awakening crowd and later the grandchildren will arrive. That part I like!

The storm is the arrival of the busy season, the calls, the stupid questions, those who will doubt the very sound advice I will dispense and argue like they know better! As I get older my patience grows thinner, so I need to be ready and realize that it's not that bad.

So another cup of coffee and grab that empty paper and enjoy the quiet of Sunday mornings!

Home Stretch

Last leg of winter, time to break that hibernation. Doesn't mean winter is over but as Churchill once said " This isn't the end but the beginning of the end".
So snow, ice, cold winds will continue, but the end is in sight and for that we all can look forward to my favorite season Spring!

Happy Walsh Day

Today is the 163rd anniversary of the arrival of James Walsh, my great 4x grandfather to the country. Thank you James for getting on the right boat and not the one to South America or Australia. Because of some quick thinking and more likely having only enough money for passage for five to New York here we are today. When you think of all the happy accidents that happened through history that make our lives possible it blows your mind.The Black Death, the Plague, numerous wars, battle of Cork, battle of Hastings (not to leave out the Verity side of the family ot the McDermotts or McCue's), it's small wonder we are here at all.

Awoken Suddenly

Can't tell you how I hate to be woken up in the middle of the night. A sudden noise, someone downstairs making a feast, a honk of a horn doesn't matter. Don't they know that I am asleep and need to be fresh in the morning. Or, they just don't care!

As one of the bill payers around here maybe punitive action can be taken? Shut off the power to their rooms? Lock up the kitchen? Order a ban on all their favorites? Maybe just tell them to cut the shit will work. Really making 1600 calorie snack after midnight is a little over the top!

Being considerate of others is a problem, not addressing it is a bigger problem. Time for everyone to put on the big boy/girl pants on and start acting like responsible adults. After all it's a big burden for one person to be responsible for so many.

Peace and Serenity has Returned

For the moment at least! Could this be a lasting peace or the calm before the storm! Who knows, will find out any day now. For now I will enjoy it, because you know all hell will break out.

Perfection

Every once in a great while you run into someone who is perfection. Yes, hard to believe! A perfect person who makes no mistakes except one. Claiming to be perfect? No! Acting perfect? No! The mistake is going out of their way to point out a mistake you made or some small oversight. In that regard their perfection is diminished for the failure to recognize that no is perfect, we are all human. The simple act of having someone else check your work is not a weakness but a strength. We are all human after all, mistakes happen, how are we to learn but through our mistakes.

So one (less) perfect person bites the dust! Remember the golden rule (Dale Carnegie's) "Never condemn, criticize or complain" for the butt you kick today may be the butt you have to kiss tomorrow.

Trees and Wind

Don't mix too well, particularly bad trees full of decay, weak crotches and poor architecture! Saturday's winds revealed a few more or should I say a few less defective trees (now that they have been removed by nature). Simple prevention can reduce damage to property when good trees turn bad. Still it seems as soon as the leaves drop in the fall, everyone quits looking at their trees and forgets the need for an inspection.

Winter is a good time to have those trees looked at, no leaves to obstruct ones vision of the branching. The defects are easily spotted and when the work is done not missed because of the covering of leaves. The last thing I want to do is go out on a Sunday because a tree fell on your house! So quit procrastinating!

Holiday on Ice

Best of all is Presidents Day, a day off in midwinter, has arrived with a fresh coat of white. White is the color of the season. It comes in all shades, dirty to pristine to pure. This morning it's pure white, another winter storm after last weeks thaw. I can hear the collective groans across the area.

One thing I can say, we have a few more weeks of winter and as winter winds down you do get more storms. Philosophically you could say that better now than next summer! Still most will say keep your philosophy let's have some warm weather and now! Don't rush the seasons, no point. Winter still drags no matter what the weather so no matter if it's 50 or 25, rain or snow. Winter will always be winter.
30 days till spring!

Welcome to America!

Next week an important day will occur, the 163rd anniversary of the arrival of the my great,great, great great grandfather to this country.

He was a widower from Tipperarey,Ireland. Sailing from Cobh aboard the S.S.Effingham (John Hudson Captain)he landed in New York. He came with his four children, good chance with little else and carved out a life in the new world. Leaving behind the pain and death of the great famine for the promise of a new life. So on friday the 25th, I will sit down and reflect on what a great life we all have because one man made a decision to start a new life.

Know wonder the family motto which dates back to 1173 "Transfixus sed non mortus" Pierced but not Dead! Speaks volumes about some of the attributes seen in various family members over the years. It's in the DNA, it's what makes us who we are. I am sure he would appreciate what we all have done with the opportunity and for those who wasted the chance he would say "Pog mo thóin!"But being a true Irishman he would just ask "Pionta Guinness, le do thoil". Slainte!

So remember when you talk about immigration, where would you be today if someone said "send them back". So unless they take the words off the Statue of Liberty "give my your tired,your poor,your huddled masses yearning to be free". Think first! Those words send a chill down my spine, it's the reason we are a great country, maybe not always a good one! So to those who have forgotten where their roots are and the fact they are descendants of immigrants, I say Pog mo thóin!

A Little Breezy Out There

Seems like yesterday while I was busy working in the garage, the wind picked up and a few trees were damaged. The national Christmas tree snapped at the base. One quick look at a picture online shows a very thin wall of good wood holding the tree together. Snapped and exposed no more tree. I then looked at an email from my bro, his dead tree snapped a big branch. Should have removed the tree last spring. Didn't tell me till I was there for a BBQ during the summer. So the morale of the story, trees have a finite lfe span, have your trees inspected periodically. Suspect areas may need further testing, internal decay may be masked. Look for signs, bulge in the trunk, flat or sunken spots. Sounding and drilling test may reveal what may be hidden. So before you get surprised by a tree on the car or house, have an arborist look at that tree!

Longer Days Shorter Nights

Haven't noticed yet, have you? Sun's up early this morning and seems to be lingering around later and later in the day. In another four weeks the spring equinox will occur as the sun continues it's march toward summer. Not to rush it on it's journey, just a comment on what at one time seemed hopeless, this endless winter, that spring is closer than we thought.

Although it will get cold again, I am getting outside to soak up the rays and look for little signs of life that will be springing from the ground!

A Well Deserved Midwinter Break

Last two days have been nice and warmer than the previous cold winter days. Tomorrow winter will slowly return and back to cold. But for now enjoy the day, I certainly did!

Days like this starts the sap rising in those Maple trees, sounds like pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

They are Watching You, Yes You!

A recent drive around I see that red light cameras have sprouted up like corn all over the place. Epidemic proportions, the ugly monsters attach themselves to the corners of busy roads waiting to snare their target, your wallet. The powers say you have their money and will now stop at nothing to get it. Taxes aren 't working, no one is buying enough to make that pay. So let's cast the net for the carless drivers how may get impatient waiting for some fool to make a left turn and then gets trapped at the light as it changes. One spot I regularly visit, I note the monster feed indiscriminately flashing at cars passing on the green. Who's the genius how came up with this money maker?

Think about it, it cost millions to put this stuff up, then some out of state company tends the system and administers the dispensing of the fines. No local geniuses to work this deal? So now you have a choice when the light turns yellow, risk a fine or slam on the brakes and pray no one hits your rear! Either way, safety wasn't the purpose, getting the green is. So far, I have evaded the monsters, luck has everything to do with it.

Oh! Forget about absently answering your cell phone, they want to give you jail time soon.
After all, you shouldn't be talking or eating or listening to loud music when you drive. The list goes on and on and on!

The Jobs Not Done Until the Paperwork is Finished

Under full assault by the paperwork police, it's funny how everyone likes to point the finger when mistakes are made.  A common refrain is " we always do it that way", gets old. To them I say you are allowed to make mistakes, just don't make the same mistake twice! "If your not making mistakes, then your not trying" or better yet "ask the question, the only stupid question is one you didn't ask"!

So in the end avoiding the dreaded paperwork always catches up with you and pointing the finger backwards always ends up pointing back at you! Time to go look at some trees, getting spring fever and I know the cure!

The Warm of the Sun

Some days you get a reward for being a trooper, well today was that day! After many weeks of frozen weather, today it went over 50, all the way up to 60. The sun on my face, the warmth hitting the top of my head through the open sun roof! Ahhh! Nice for a change, shedding the parka, my step quickened as I strode up Columbus Ave into the building, up to the roof and exiting the elevator to go through the door marked " Sun Terrace", I was in no particular rush to come down and get back in the car for the ride back to the office. Just wanted to find a place to sit, enjoy a cup of coffee and the warmth of the sun!

It's Official, Were Broke!

Thank you Mr. Speaker for that profound news, maybe a pay cut for Congress would help or perhaps instead of issuing tax refunds give everyone an IOU. Enough of the cute stuff, the winter has gotten to us and has made us all silly. The snow has killed business for most and the anxiety of the great unknown is creeping into our everyday lives.

So the question has to be asked, is the glass half full or half empty? Is it just a bad winter and life will take us up on the first warm day? Is hope lost or have we all lost our passion? The answer is inside all of us, some deeper than others. Inside in our soul we all have it so why do we let something like a bad winter get us in such a deep funk? Any ideas?

So what do we have to do to make things seem better? A nice week off in a warm sunny place may give temporary relief, or perhaps find something new to stir the passion inside. Hey what consenting adults do is none of my business. But really life is about attitude. In other words you are what you think! Wrap your head around that concept.

You are what you want others to see you as. Everyone has four separate personalities, more correctly four parts to their being. A public face, a private face, an unknown face and a very dark face. Yes there is a scary person that hides inside all of us. It's the reason people kill and do other inconceivable things. But that's not the point! The public face is what we project to others and that's what we can adjust to show others how we feel. The private face is the one we all need to adjust, that's the secret place where we reside all the time. The place where mediocrity hides and self doubt runs and plays. That's the place we need to work on!

Bugs and Stuff

Spring will come and we will have bugs. Bugs everywhere we look, some on the ground, some hanging from trees, some eating foliage and others giving bites and stings. Sounds really bad!

Not all bugs are bad, we live in a complex ecosystem and insect life is just a part of the big picture. So before you feel the need to squash that bug think it may be performing a valuable function in that ecosystem. Some are predators and eat others keeping the balance, some are pollinators and are needed for food production. Others are just a part of the food chain and as members of the top of that food chain you can appreciate the need for an unbroken chain. Everything in nature has a purpose, were things really go awry is when man steps in to make changes.

Well we are in control aren't we? Planting exotic invasive plants alters the ecosystem and may cause a ripple effect all the entire system. Newly imported invasive insects brought to your door step by the shrinking world we live in alters our natural ecosystem. Our artificial home landscapes imitate nothing in natural world but came from our own misaligned view of what nature is.

I feed birds in my yard. It gives my wife and I some pleasure watching them and the diversity of the species present. Today we had a new bird, a small owl, a predator doing some hunting. My wife was upset, she felt that we should protect the song birds from the bad bird. The should not be serving a hot lunch in our yard. Ok but it's real,the natural world the way nature intended. Eat or be eaten. A sly smile came over my face.

Passion and a Lack of It

Know what separates successful people and those who settle for less? It's passion, either you have it or you don't. Is it human nature to try to be mediocre? Oh, I what to just be a failure! That way no one will notice me!

What I am witnessing now is beyond belief, the fine art of trying to be a failure. It makes me crazy, makes me angry and is frustrating. How can anyone how breathes be so lazy? Is it fear of being successful? Is it not wanting to put out any effort? Is it fear? Come on help me out here, I am at a loss for such behavior. I refuse to accept it, I will not condone it and I will give no sympathy and will not tolerate excuses for it.

So to those how are trying hard to be a failure I say " GET OF YOUR BUTT AND GET WITH IT". It's your life and no one except yourself can determine what the outcome will be. So try at least try!

Find your passion, please.

Simplicity

Once upon a time we lived in a simple world free of technology, electricity, automobiles, TV, radio, newspapers and credit cards. Boy that must have been boring! To the folks who pine for yesterdays simpler times I say "what's stopping you!"

It's been a long boring week in mid-winter and I need some down time to recover from having nothing to do. So go figure how one can become exhausted by doing nothing? It's a lot of work, looking busy!

Something to Ponder

Worry and anxiety is part of life on the 21st century, can't get away from it. Someone told be that it's not getting rid of stress but how well you deal with it that counts. With worry, you have to ask yourself " what's the worst that can happen?". as you go through the list you eventually come to the conclusion that the worst is really as bad as you imagine and somewhere in the middle is just fine. So deal with it, what's the worse that can happen?

Yesterday we had an accident, embarrassing but not the end of the world. Yes I said we, it wasn't me but someone I work with and the accident had potential to adversely affect me. It may yet, but the reality is that there is nothing I can do now , it's done. The truth is there was nothing I could have done then either.

A number of years ago, we had a man die as a result of an accident, maybe there was something we could have done, but we weren't there and it was the worst that could happen. So we keeping learning new lessons everyday, you can never be too safe. Be safe!

Know it All!

A common complaint amongst fellow arborist is that at various times someone will come up and ask a question about a house plant. Go figure arborist- arbor Latin for tree a large woody plant that grows outside. We are not herbaciousist! We are ARBORIST, we are knowledgable about TREES, not house plants. So let's get over it, we normally grimace, smile and come up with a wild answer we pull out of the air. Still we are guessing, my own experience with house plants is that eventually they die because we did or didn't do something right. So off to the store and buy something new and hope it will live.

When I was a teenager I took a few cuttings from a Jade tree at a greenhouse on an estate where we were building a green house. In a few years the cuttings grew to a great size. Proudly watering and tending it gave me great satisfaction. One day while it sat on the windowsill it caught a cold and died. Oh well, it did give me some joy for a few years. No arborist nearby to ask what happened, if there was one he (or she) would probably roll their eyes, grimace look up to the sky then smile and pull some wild answer out of the air.

Arboretum

Went to the arboretum today, sounds silly of course arborist go to arboretums why not? Gotta see trees, well I see enough trees, but a conference was held there and they served lunch. A good lunch at that!

It was nice to look around the room filled with (what else)arborist, a note how old everyone has gotten. I feel a little better when I peer at that old guy every morning in the mirror. A few new faces and a few fresh faces. The more things change the more they stay the same. Everyone has the same problems, that's reassuring not the only one. It was nice to reconnect with old friends, adversaries, competiors and collegues.

Winter returned by afternoon and I left I had a sense that spring will come and all will get back to work. You can sense the boredom, fear of the uncertain future and anxiety brought on my idleness. The first nice day most will bolt out of the gate like a bunch of race horses at the derby.

Mid-Winter Crisis

We all look forward to our mid-life crisis for men that's getting a convertible, trying to cover the bad spot and looking cool or trying. For women, maybe I shouldn't go there. It occured to me that everyone is having a mid-winter crisis. Too much togetherness, too much TV, too much food and snacking.

Yesterday took the wife out for some air, she needed it. Sunlight hasn't seen her face for sometime, well after awhile  she was bored no good places to take pictures, flooded roads and huge snow banks have made many places inaccessible. So back home we went. I suggested a walk, but the ice on the driveway created an obstacle. So we chopped ice together, and it was fun.

Today's message is if you have lemons make lemonade. Make the most of what you do have. Have a nice day, no matter what the weather or season.

Feeling the Heat

Okay, it's a little late in coming but the last storm fizzled out due to warming trend. Yes, it rained not snowed and last night the temperature never went below freezing. So the mid-winter thaw is officially here, at least for a few day anyway! So enjoy the sun is out and looks like a nice day to get some sunshine, by Tuesday it will be back to winter abiet less snow. Take the victories no matter how small.

Now is a great time to get out and look at those battered trees, snow, wind and ice has taken it's toll. Time to prune those trees before spring gets here, the entire branch structure is exposed so good branch selections can be made, deadwood visible, crossing and rubbing limbs out. So get busy before winter returns and delays the work again!

44 Days till Spring on The Wall

Knock one down and pass it around 43 day till spring.... Enough complaining about winter it happens every year this time, it's always the same length no matter what the ground hog says (as if he can talk) and nothing you can do or say will change that.

So what can you change: first spend more time getting outside for fresh air, exercise and sunlight, two should bought that snow blower guaranteed if you don't want snow buy one it will never snow again. Develop new hobbies and interest. Take that winter vacation and go somewhere and do something.

Yesterday out looking at trees spotted a pilated woodpecker and a retailed hawk, in fact we got to within 6 feet of the hawk before he flew off. Made for an interesting day!

Work

Yes, work! We have some work to do and the crying about being slow and the bad weather is on hold. The same bad weather that created the no work also brought the opportunity for new work. Things never seem to be what they appear to be. So off I go mounted in my gray chariot of to look at trees bids to do, broken trees to view and a promise of something to occupy my mind and time other than the emptiness of this winter.

But first, coffee! Coffee the drug of choice for most adult Americans. Tried to get a cup yesterday, but the shop I went to had no parking, except one small spot in front of a liquor store. The owner of that shop had strategical place a 15 min liquor store only sign. For a moment I was ready to defy the jerk, but he peered out his window so I went elsewhere. Short sighted to say the least, I'll be getting coffee somewhere else from now on and one thing is for sure I will not be making purchases at the liquor store ever. I don't drink! So for the want of a parking space bad will was developed for two shops and bad business if you ask me. Never turn down a customer, and decisions you make may have an adverse affect on others.

On the other hand the place I got my coffee, I was greeted, light conversation about the weather and a goodbye was all appreciated. Their parking lot was plowed and salted and they made sure that the customers had a safe place to park.

Ice Dancing with 4000 lbs SUV'S

Well the ice arrived on schedule leaving a coating on everything. Opening the garage and peering down the driveway, the newspaper seemed like a lost cause lying there at the end. Fear not put on the chains on the old boots and retrieved it no problem.

The drive in was even more interesting creeping along like an old lady going to a church social, I really didn't care who I pissed off. Slow down was the word of the day. Safely at work and awaiting the calls of broken trees, fallen limbs and other emergencies. Work safe is the buzz word today. No time to rush! Slow down!

A Good Icy Morning

Roads like skating rinks after a light dusting and now freezing rain. Predictions of 1/2" of ice will break a few tree limbs later. Tire chains for the boots and rain gear; for the foolish who venture outside the next 24 hours.

Winter has been tough here, so working outside has come to a halt an ice storm will change all that so you need to be prepared for going out in the elements to deal with downed trees and broken limbs that are sure to follow. Sharpen up that chainsaw, get the sand and salt ready for those footpaths, be prepared.