There were some tree removal guys on our street the other day and so we asked them for a quote to remove our trees for us. They seemed like nice, honest folks and that certainly came through in their sales pitch:

“It’s still winter and we’re desperate for any work you can give us. We’ll cut you a deal that’s a fraction of what you’d pay otherwise. If you wait until spring we’ll be busy, but we can do it now for a song.”

Indeed their price seemed to be about half of what I had been quoted earlier. Fortunately we already have our removal permit in place from last year so they’ll be coming tomorrow to take them down.

They also gave me a great tip regarding the stumps: If you build a flower box over them you’ll remember to water the soil in the flower box regularly. A wet-soil-covered stump will rot to pulp all on its own in about 3 months. (If one leaves the fresh-cut stump in the sun to dry out, it will stick around for decades.)