Black Walnut and White Oak

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I had a knock on my door on Friday evening.  A young man asked if I wanted any tree trimming done.  I had seen him walking down the road on my way home.  I noticed he had missing teeth.  My mind ran through the options of meth use or poor dental care.  I voted for poor dental care because his skin looked clear. I said, "Yes."  Actually I've been trying to get my black walnut tree trimmed since last summer.  Two branches were growing toward the house.  One of them touched the roof and the other one would be touching the house within the next growing season.  This walnut tree can drop between 500 and 700 walnuts per year and many of them were dropping on the roof and rolling down.  The noise was just like someone knocking on the front door and I spent a lot of time answering the door for the stupid walnut tree.  I called 4 tree trimming companies and the city manager.  The city manager did not give me any names but suggested I get a certified tree arborist. One of the companies said they did not work in Ramsey.  The other three said they would be out to give me an estimate but never showed up.  I don't have faith in companies who say they will come but don't bother to show.  So I was discouraged and that is why I told this man I would like my trees trimmed.  He gave me a card and said the arborist would stop by later this evening.  An hour later another guy knocked on the door.  He said he was a certified tree arborist.  We looked at the walnut tree.  He said he could trim that tree.  He said walnuts falling on the roof can create dimples that fill with water and cause damage.  He said my white oak seriously needed trimming.  Leaning over the house like it was and with dead limbs above the driveway it was out of balance and dangerous. Did I want the brush and wood picked up?  I said I could take care of that part.  The penny pincher in me got ahead of the "recovering from hip replacement" me.  He said he could trim the walnut tree for $200. He'd be happy to trim the oak tree for another $200.  He would be back on Saturday night or Sunday morning to do the work. He said his company was trimming other trees in my neighborhood.  We could hear his chain saws working. I said I definitely wanted the walnut trimmed and would think about the oak.  I asked if it wasn't too late in the year to trim the oak.  I thought oaks had to be trimmed in early March to prevent oak wilt.  He said it wasn't too late. He said these 3 trees (2 oaks and the walnut) were joined together underground because their roots were interwoven.  If one oak got oak wilt, the other oak, even if it wasn't the same species, might get it too.  Having dead branches falling at random could invite oak wilt into the system.  He had a jerky speaking pattern with long pauses while he searched his mind for words.  He said the oak should be trimmed before the (long gap here, so long in fact I proposed a word for him - catkin?) catkins appear.  In my mind I wonder what kind of arborist forgets the work catkin?  He left with a plan to return to trim the walnut for sure and possibly the oak.  In the meantime I researched the cost of trimming trees.  $200 was a fair price.  I researched his company.  I found them listed in the Stillwater phone book but nothing else.  Was I making the right choice in hiring this guy?  I wasn't sure.  On Saturday at 6:45 p.m. I got another knock on the door.  My arborist was back.  I asked, "You are going to work now?"  He said he was.  The sun was low in the sky but he said he could get it done.  He said if I paid in cash he would give me a discount and do both trees for $350.  "Yes, go ahead and do both trees," I said and got in my car to go to the bank.  When I returned with the cash the walnut tree was done and a man was climbing the oak tree.  I watched as he climbed the tree and strapped himself to the branches.  Another guy connected a chain saw to a rope.  The tree climber pulled the chain saw up and he cut branches off as he headed up the tree.  Part of the tree is curved over like a palm tree.  I thought that part would be easier for him to climb.  He cut off branches to even out the weight of the tree.  Maybe it will stop tipping toward the south pole now. He cut the dead branches off.  Branches came crashing down.  At one point I watched him cut off a branch while totally dangling from his harness.  Both his feet were hanging free.  Later he let the running chain saw go.  It dangled from a rope on his waist while still running!  I guess the chain wasn't moving but the motor was definitely running.  This was exciting to see.  He finished the oak.  Another guy cut the larger branches into smaller pieces for me and put the brush on a pile.  He used his leatherman tool to cut the rope that Offspring #1 put around the branch of the walnut tree 18 years ago.  A little bit of family history in that one branch.  The talented tree trimmer descended the tree as the sun set on Saturday night.  More branches were picked up by the light from a pick up truck.  I paid my $350 and the guys drove away.  My trees are trimmed and I have a bunch of branches and wood to pick up.  I look forward to many large bonfires this summer.  I think I made the right choice in hiring these guys.  At least branches won't be rubbing and damaging the house my house anymore. 

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