Now you see it, now you don't

Yesterday the Saturday morning peace and quiet was shattered by a tree service crew. My neighbor finally had one of the trees damaged in last June's freak storm removed. It was quite the operation - lots of equipment, lots of workers - and they were done in less than an hour. Nothing left but a pile of dirt and saw dust.

The neighbor had them take out a nearby pine as well, which surprised me because now the entrance to their driveway is asymmetrical. I asked if they were going to replace either tree, but they said no. Now the southeast corner of my house will get more midsummer sun. Hopefully, the elm is next.

When the heavy equipment first arrived on the scene, from the backyard I wondered if someone had called the fire department on me for burning. We are not allowed to burn leaves here (and I wouldn't anyway - leaves are a valuable commodity in the garden), but I was burning a bunch of sticks in a fire bowl, which is allowed. Things may get a bit wild and woolly in my backyard, but I do try to play by the rules.

Other outdoor activities included rearranging the bird feeders to spread them around the yard, storing the flamingos for the season, etc. Oh, and planting garlic, the original task on my outdoor to-do list and which I almost forgot. I suffer from CRS - Can't Remember Shit.