“I just had to do it,” I calmly replied. “You knew I was going to cut it down. What’s the big deal? Just tell the property owners that my husband is from America and that he didn’t know any better.”
I think it’s a major taboo to cut a tree down that is on someone else’s property. The tree was only five feet from the property line. It was blocking the view of my volcano. Solution: Cut the tree down. It wasn’t a huge tree, but it was getting bigger each day and if I had waited till the property owners gave permission, it might have become a huge tree. I’m sorry, but I just had to do it. I was getting the hang of using a chainsaw because I had lots of logs to cut for firewood. I looked over at the tree that had been bothering me since we purchased the house. “Why not?” I asked myself. “Now is as good a time as any.” Fifteen minutes later, the deed was done. I had committed a sinister crime of unknown proportions. I felt sorry that I had to cut down a perfectly good tree, but the tree was in the wrong place at the wrong time…it had to go. After all the dust had settled, I felt good that I had done what I had set out to do. The trouble was that if the property owner was unhappy about the trees disappearance, we could be sued. Solution: Hide the evidence. That’s what I have been busy doing today and will be doing tomorrow. I have a lot of tree to chop up into little pieces and a stump to whittle down to something smaller than a pancake. It will be worth it…I think. One day, I’ll be sitting on the porch admiring the view and thinking about a tree that could have ruined the whole scene. It still could, in an economical sense, provided I don’t do a good job of covering my mistake.
Today, we had a surprise visit from a friend that had a backhoe. His name is Kiyonaga-san. My friend was kind enough to let me use the scaffolding that has been gracing the side of our home for the past month. He also let me use the chainsaw to cut firewood and the tree of despair. His current contribution to my well being is the use of a backhoe. He pulled up to our property and asked me if I had drawn the plans for the new garage. I showed him the drawing and the rest was history. He immediately hammered some stakes into the ground, set up a level, took some measurements, and began excavating. It really happened that fast! I was left in astonishment as he took control of the situation. I have never met anyone like him. He then proceeded to measure, stake, backhoe, and level the area for our dog fence…amazing!! Did I say that he did this on his weekend? Did I also mention that he did this for free? It’s been six hours since he left and I’m still trying to catch my breath. In a mere 5 hours, Kiyonaga-san, transformed my yard into something that I had thought I would have to wait for at least another year or two. I really don’t want to learn how to build a foundation from the ground up, but Kiyonaga-san believes it’s the best way to save a lot of money. He also believes that I can do it with his help. I’m speechless and grateful to have him as a friend.
George
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