Another Mess

NASHVILLE ELECTRIC SERVICE TREE CONTRACTORS

This was a FIRST since Prince and I have been married for the tree contractors to clear the power line from the bottom of the hill on Poplar Creek Road up to our back door. All other tree contractors that NES has paid just come and shake their heads and proceed never to return.

Mr. Frank who took care of the farm for forty years, cleared that pathway out several times and even Prince has taken and cut down trees and bushes so we would continue to have electricity. Never has the tree contractors that NES paid to keep their lines clear have ever tackled the job.

I heard them before I saw them. They had parked their Trees USA trucks down on the road going to the farm house. At one time there were at least five trucks. I got my binoculars out to see what the name was on the side of the trucks. I also kept watch for them to emerge into the field between the woods and the fence.

There were three young men in bright green shirts that appeared. They crossed the fence and proceeded to go look at the two big walnut trees that had been marked with a red X to cut. I went downstairs and out to introduce myself and ask if they did intend to cut the trees. The youngman from Hickman County who had to be no older than Puppy said they could leave the trees if I did not wish to have them cut. I told them I would rather have electricity than those two trees so cut away.

However, I asked them to leave the wood as Prince wanted to cut it up into firewood. They asked me what length I would like it cut and I told them at least 21 maybe 24 inches. The tree on the left came down first and then two more young men had made it up the hill and each had a chain saw and they cut it up into logs in less than five minutes. Then they used the old water bucket method that firemen had used but instead of buckets of water they were tossing logs to each other and the last man stacked it up againist the pine trees.

One green shirt climbed the big oak as a huge limb was hanging over the power line and another went up the walnut just like a squirrel and started putting up ropes to cut out the top. This was tricky as this tree was inbetween the lines to the house and the lines to the log cabin. He reached up and cut the tree only an arms length and the boys on the ground made sure it came down inbetween. I found myself standing at the back door holding my breath during this feat. The squirrel man surlied on down the tree and then cut it off at the bottom.

At this point it was quitting time so they picked up their equipment and slowly walked back down the hill. The next couple of days the weather was not tree cutting weather so they did not show back up until three days afterwards but they cleaned up the rubbish and cut the tree that had provided food for the real squirrels for years into logs for firewood.

Prince wants to plant two new walnut trees for the squirrels but farther down the hill away from the power lines.

The Kitty Justice is that we will continue to have electric power, Prince will not have to clear the line and we will keep warm by those fallen wooden soliders.

It was sad to see those majestic trees toppled but it would have been really bad if they had fallen on their own. Thanks NES for contracting real tree men this time.