Pedley's Ponderings

I’m not good at building things – even when I help my son with a LEGO set I’m bound to fudge it up once or twice.

Though my handyman skills are nil, I can sure break things. I can do it without even trying, too – just this week I broke the laminate edge off the corner of a countertop when it hooked my hip while I was walking by.

This “talent” is only helpful on projects that require demolition. Though I haven’t broken out the sledgehammer since we’ve moved to Hartley, I have been busy slamming my trees, shrubs and other vegetation with a Sawzall and clippers.

The process has been equal parts easy and arduous. First on my list was the landscaping, and I’m proud to report I removed all bushes, small trees and shrubs in one weekend. Thanks to a trailer commandeered from a friend’s dad, they even made it out to the dump within a day.

The actual trees have been a different story. Each one needs a trim, and my one-man operation has been rather slow at it. So far I’ve gotten three ash trees done and two evergreens. A nearby friend has been pestering me to do something on the weekends, but I think he’s grown rather sick of asking me what I’m doing. “Wrestling trees,” I respond coldly. “You’re welcome to join me.”

He hasn’t, and that’s smart of him – my arms and legs look like I came close to losing a fight with a house cat. The evergreens were the worst last weekend, and I had been putting them off for some time knowing what sort of pain was in store once I crawled underneath to trim. I assumed the experience would be a cuss-filled slog, and I was right.

The worst part about trimming evergreen trees is that it’s a four-part job instead of two: First you trim them, then you take the branches to the dump; then you go back to get the needles, and then take them to the dump. My trees have about 20 or so years of needle shed under them too, which requires extra elbow grease to remove from the ground.

Though most folks bemoan this type of monotonous work, I don’t particularly mind it. I can put on a ball game or play some music and just enjoy being outside. The kids usually leave me alone, too, and it’s nice not hearing them bicker at each other. I’ll take an angry robin squawking at me any day of the week.

I still have plenty of work to this summer, and all I can do is plug away at it. Four evergreens remain and I have two trees I’d like to cut down as well. It will take time and even though I’m not sure my wife is entirely pleased with my work, I’ll be glad to not have branches slapping me in the face while mowing and shrubs scraping our windows when the wind blows.

Nick Pedley is news editor and ad manager of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.