Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Appreciating Artistry


 I do not even know what time the tree guys got here this morning. I was still asleep. And by the time I made it outside, this was happening. 

It was chilly this morning. Wasn't supposed to freeze last night but when I turned on the water in my bathroom, I could just feel that the thermometer had dipped below 32 and it had. This did not deter the folks in the front row of the tree cutting show however. And I made hot chocolate for the boys and Boppy had his coffee and Jessie made a cup of tea and we were all thrilled to watch the beautiful operation going on in the yard. 


There was the guy in the crane who directed the cable that the actual tree-cutter hung from. 


Here he was, coming down. He was a master of his craft and craft it is, performing ballet dangling from a wire with a chainsaw in his hand. The crane operator has to concentrate fully on his man and this one certainly did. 
"One of the best in the business," said our Tree Guy later. 
So there were the two of them and the son of the Tree Guy whose job it mostly was to cut and move branches. They had a small front-end loader or something, I don't know what it was, that was like an extension of the operator's arms which enfolded the branches and logs and lifted them up and transported them to where they needed to go, compacting them as well. They had a dump truck that got filled with limbs and pieces of log as the day went on. 
It was an amazing and well-oiled operation and they never stopped except to take a short lunch break. 


You may notice that there are no helmets or safety glasses in sight. As Jessie said, "Safety is not their first priority." I had to giggle when she later got the boys' bikes out of the back of her van and made sure they were wearing their helmets before they rode around my back yard. 

They were such nice men, these tree cutting men. The father (who I think is about sixty-four years old) complimented his son several times for doing something well and his son is a grown man, for sure, who also has his captain's license and does charter fishing trips. He told us that he's been doing cutting since he could crank a chainsaw and his dad has been doing it since he was fourteen. He learned the craft from his uncle. 
I used to have a friend who referred to "the changers of the oil and the tillers of the soil" and I have never forgotten that poetic description of the people who work with their hands and their bodies, often with as much grace and artistic technique as a human being can display. Where would we be without those changers of the oil, the tillers of the soil, the plumbers and carpenters, the tilers and the gardeners, the road workers, the mechanics, those who build and those who take down what had been built before? The roofers and the linemen, the electricians and the shrimpers, the ones who deal with our trash, our septic systems, our routers and who repair our refrigerators and stoves, our dishwashers and washing machines? Who clean our hospital hallways and stock our grocery stores? 
Let me just say that in the grand scheme of things, one good plumber does more to justify his existence on this earth than ten million Kardashian influencers or whatever the fuck they are. 

When the daddy cut down the cherry laurel he chainsawed it and he landed it exactly where he wanted it to go. We applauded. We were an appreciative audience. 


Such gorgeous cherry wood, although there was a lot of rot near the top. You don't realize how big a tree is until it hits the ground and you can feel the shake of the earth as it falls, until a five-year old stands next to it. 

August walked down to the post office with me. I knew that his flannel was going to be in and I wanted to get it and show it to him. We had a nice walk and he demonstrated skipping and trotting and we chatted as we went. He asked me, "If you saw me, would you think that I am older than five years old?"
I found this a most interesting question and wasn't sure how to answer it. I knew he wanted me to say that I would have thought he was much older than five but in truth, he looks five to me. So what I said was, "Well, that's hard to say because I know you are five so to me, you look like you're five."
I'm not sure he was thrilled with that but he accepted it. 
Besides the flannel, I also found a sweet card and a quilled snowflake sent by Susan M. I was so pleased to get those things. I came home and hung the snowflake up immediately and it will stay there, year 'round. 


Isn't it lovely? Thank you, Susan. So much. 

While the tree men had their lunch, we had ours, and the boys got to watch a little TV. They were thrilled, of course, but when it came time to shut it off, they didn't fuss too much and went back outside to see what was happening there. 

The men will be back tomorrow to finish cleaning up the rest of the branches and logs. We'll be saving some of the black walnut and the cherry for various wood projects. 

And all I day as this has gone on, I've had such a sadness inside me. I don't know what that's been about unless it's just the sadness caused by the anniversary of dear John Lennon's death which is not only the anniversary of the beginning of my first marriage, but what turned out to be the end, as well. Whatever the cause, I've had tears close to flowing all day and sometimes they have. 

And that's just the way it goes, sometimes. 
No use to fight it. No need to either, really. 
We are humans and the rainbow of emotions we feel makes up the whole of the glorious palette of it all whether we are viewing it through prisms of sunlit water or a plume of smoke. 



Or something like that. 

Love...Ms. Moon


22 comments:

  1. Living in the woods, as we did, over the years several trees had to come down. An elm that we nursed and nursed for years...But those fellas who did it were magnificent. You described it perfectly.

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    1. It's a beautiful thing to watch but I would not want anyone I loved doing that work.

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  2. What an eloquent praise of human skill. That was lovely to read.
    Those kids ask the most amazing questions, don't they?

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    1. I LOVE their questions. Well, some of them especially.

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  3. Yes, where would we be without all of the hard-working people that take care of us and our world!? I had my roof re-shingled recently and those guys worked so fast and so smoothly as a team. I could hear them running across the roof and I was amazed how fast they could move without slipping or falling. So skilled in their work.
    Love that last picture - so much to see!

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    1. It was really cool watching the smoke rise in the sky as the sun was beginning its descent.
      Roofers in Florida have to be the most robust people in the world. I swear to god. But roofers anywhere have my admiration.

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  4. what an exciting thing to watch (been there). But really....no helmets? no security belts? Yikes! They rock it. What beautiful wood too.....I trust Mr Moon will have a plan for that gorgeous cherry wood
    Susan M

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    1. Oh, there were security belts, just no helmets or goggles. Something will come of that cherry wood.

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  5. It hurts. You blithely disrespected Kardashian influencers like myself. They have done so much to change the world with their humility, kindness and exemplary lives. However, I doff my cap to your tree surgeons. As you suggest, they belong to the enormous tribe of working people who make life happen and they deserve our undying respect and gratitude.

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    1. I do so apologize, Mr. P.
      And I agree with your sentiment about the tree guys and all of the people who work to keep our lives running in ways that we don't even think about.

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  6. That's a real hive of activity. Were the chickens in hiding? You're absolutely right about all the working people -- we depend on them and should be treating large swaths of them better as a society than we often do. (Service industry folks especially.)

    I love that last picture of the smokey air!

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    1. We kept the chickens in the coop all day. I was a mess worrying about them. I kept giving them more food and taking them the kitchen scraps and filling their waterers. I let them out in the very late afternoon and they had a few nice hours of scratching about.
      I like that picture too.

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  7. That was a big old tree that they took down. It's amazing to think how long it's been there, just growing while things all around it changed. I think trees are the true historians, they carry history in their wood.

    Sending hugs and love.

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    1. I just looked up the lifespan of cherry laurels and see they can live to be 150 years old. I had no idea! This one was on its way out and I don't feel too bad about cutting it though. Its branches had grown sparse and it had sap coming out of it in different places.

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  8. What a great day!Except for the trees , never mind, it had to be done. Bringing big production to the yard, the little boys, enthralled, will remember this event as one of the most marvelous, besides pancakes, of course.

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    1. And there are plenty more trees in my yard. Trust me.
      I hope the boys do remember! I think Levon like this experience even more than pancakes. Not sure about August though. He really does love pancakes.

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  9. Nature took down a big locust tree on our property. A neighbor has been helping to cut it into sections. As a thank you, we offered some of the wood for his home. Rather than use it for burning (a great wood for wood stoves), he actually cut out four large, wide planks about 2" thick and he is going to make a table out of it. Nice idea. He likes woodworking...even though his day job is that of an actual rocket scientist. :)

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    1. I imagine that rocket scientists can make good tables! And what a great hobby for someone with a job which is probably quite stressful.

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  10. what are those bell shaped things up i the tree? and yes, the people who make this world work are worth far more than those rich people who think the world revolves around them.

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    1. Purple martin houses. They're not really in a tree. The photo is deceptive.

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  11. Well as an adopted Scouser living with a Scouser in South Liverpool where all 4 Beatles lived in very different circumstances to each other your words made me cry. I am struggling with health both mental and physical and just watched Bruce Springsteen Lettèr to you which l will nèed to watch again due to weeping through all of that so need to watch again to truly grasp the glory of it. Those boys from both sides of the pond Those days That music. That time of hope. How lucky we were to be young when they were. Music cŕated by big rivers seas oceans. I cant really explain but l know what you mean. Sorry I dont comment much these days Eyes health. Getting old is not for sissies but you are rocking it. Love to you n yours from Merseyside Maggi xxx

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  12. I love to read you everyday! Johanna

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.