I just finished the worst part of the tree trimming that the city demands

[chowmama]

I'm not sure it's gardening, but it's as close as I can get.

The city let me know last Wednesday night (when the letter arrived) that the trees above the alley had to be cut back up to 14 feet before next Wednesday. So - six days, out of which I work four. Temps in the mid to high nineties. Terrific.

So we went out and got the tall ladder and a new tree lopper. I've now trimmed it as high as is safe, as far as I'm concerned. Anywhere near the existing wires is 14 feet, as far as I'm concerned, and trimmed back towards the garage/carport as far as it needs to be. If they want my 71-year-old ass on a metal ladder and playing around wires with a lopper and a saw, I have three words for them. You Go First.

The last time I smelled this bad was the day in vet tech school when we all had to go out to the university farm site and castrate pigs. Radar the dog took one sniff and gave me the most horrified look - I think I've got a tub of cool water in my near future.

I'll go out after work tomorrow and clear the low vegetation.

[Walleye]

1. Well, that is a lot of real work. You have my admiration. Be careful!

[chowmama]

2. My arms look like I stuck them in a pen of hyenas

And I don't know how I got this many bruises.

The trees producing the problem are volunteer scrubs and are full of, I assume, termite ants. The termites did not appreciate being disturbed.

[John1956PA]

3. This afternoon, I hauled out the branch cuttings from my maple tree near the back alley.

I like shade trees, but they have to be cut back every so often. The tree's limbs and branches spanned a good width from my lot to my neighbor's lot. Yesterday, I made use of an old, reliable wooden ladder. I own a device which has a pruning blade at the end of a long pole. It came in handy for one branch. My hand-held reciprocating saw was used for the other branches and limbs. Maple cutting are easy to deal with.

I am sorry that your tree has gnarly growth full of ants. Good job on getting the task done on short notice!