I was feeling quite buoyant when I returned home.
The morning had been mildly challenging. One customer wrote a note with his order asking us to pack his parcel properly. I wanted to write and thank him for his advice, finishing with the words “…because it had never occurred to me to pack the parcel properly.” However, shop policy dictates that they never let me use my first idea for a reply.
Two customers wrote in with “offers” of approximately half our asking price. I wasn’t allowed to write to them either.
Another, who is from overseas, wrote a note in English words, but used in an order which conceals the actual meaning. You have to admire his bravery in using a foreign language, and the originality with which he uses it. We think he’s asking for a discount. They are always asking for a discount.
And then we have a case of theft – an envelope of coins was delivered with a slit in the side and a complete lack of coins. It’s insured, but it has already taken over an hour of emails and insurance claims, and is going to take more time before it is all settled.
Eventually I arrived home and went to see the couple next door. They have concerns about our conifer and I have arranged to have it topped before the nesting season starts. Tomorrow it will, at what sees great expense, be shortened by about 12 feet.
This leaves the lower half to act as a windbreak and wildlife habitat.
As I left, after letting them know the plane they asked “Have you thought of taking it down completely?”
As it happens, I have. There are many reasons I’m just having the top taken out. It acts as a windbreak for my garage, and partly for the house. It is a great wildlife habitat and we usually have pigeons nesting in it. It is one of the last mature trees left round the area as all the neighbours have taken their trees down (I may return to that subject later). It’s cheaper. I can’t think what to replace it with. And, finally, it’s my bloody tree and I can do what I like with it.
People seem to hate trees in gardens these days.
Apparently it casts a lot of shade over their garden. Well, when they bought the house a few years ago it was just as big and just as shady.
I’m very disappointed in them. There are a lot of reasons, as I explained, leading to me wanting to keep the tree. And they kept repeating that it cast a lot of shade and they would be prepared to help with the cost.
They might be prepared to help with the cost of cutting it down, but what about the cost to the local wildlife?
I am now downcast, deflated and disappointed.
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If Twitter and Facebook had the same policy on replies as your firm does, the world would be a better place. You might have asked your neighbours if they would pay for three nice mature specimen trees to be planted in your garden to make up for the loss of the conifer habitat if they wanted it felled.
To be fair they did offer to help with the cost of the felling, but that’s like Atilla the Hun offering to help with the costs of your haircut. I am going to plant some fruit trees and when they are going in a year or two I may well cut the conifer further back. At the moment it protects my garage roof, as well as offering habitat for pigeons and Coal Tits.
The fruit trees sound like a good idea.
It’s something I’ve thought about before, but never quite got round to it.
Some people are the limit! All of the points you made are valid and another one that you might like to add to the list is this – the complete loss of such a large tree would impact fairly severely on all buildings in the vicinity e.g. subsidence. Even topping the tree may make quite a lot of difference to the drainage of the gardens.
I hadn’t thought of that – I feel even better now.
🙂
Keep the tree – ditch the neighbours! Oh, no, I suppose that’s not possible – what a shame
Didn’t intend to post that anonymously – not sure why WordPress wants to keep me a secret.
That’s a new one – it’s done many other things, including shutting me out, but never made me anonymous. 🙂
🙂 To be fair, they could be worse. The last lot were awful – ripped all the shrubs out of the back garden and concreted over the front.
What the heck and what a day! Unless a tree is a danger—and sometimes it is—there is no reason why it should just come down willy-nilly. Or be topped. Or whatever. You made some excellent points, the chief one being that it was more or less at its current height when your neighbors bought their house. If I lived next to you, I would want that tree to stay exactly as it is. And maybe I could peek in on the nesting birds with you and Julia.
It had outgrown the garden a bit and I’m happier with it at the new height, but you are right, best not to meddle.
We only just got it done in time – the pigeons are pairing up and looking for nest sites.
Many the pigeons nest in that topped tree!
🙂
Dammit
Such is life Derrick, but I am more cheerful now. 🙂
Don’t be downcast you are a hero to the local wildlife not to mention doing your bit for climate change by keeping the carbon sink that is a tree. Invite those neighbours to do more for wildlife and plant a tree of their own!
Funny I also am not allowed to give the reply I would like to some of the queries I have to deal with.
Thank you, I feel happier now. 🙂 I have been writing imaginary letters to people.
“However, shop policy dictates that they never let me use my first idea for a reply.” – I think this was called “sanitizing” a response back in my day. Keep your chin up Quercus, better days ahead. 🙂
🙂 It has already been a better day – this seems to be the way.