Victory over nature

Our little tiny lot has always been heavily treed and dark. We kinda liked it that way -- kept cool in the summer, moss doesn't need mowing, and the neighbors couldn't see much of what was going on out there. Not that anything was. The downside (if not having to mow is ever a downside) was there wasn't much room for the kids to play, grass would only grow in select spots, and there was a whole lot of nature out there making noises starting around 3 in the morning. Sleep in the summer is a serious challenge.

But the two once-majestic pines were now just big, sappy needle-droppers that were on their way out, and a maple that had somehow escaped our notice had grown too big to kill by ourselves, and there were some locusts or some damn thing caught up in the neighbor's power lines. So when we saw Tree Boy up the street earlier this spring, we got an estimate. So, Tree Boy came yesterday, and $1 million later, we're tree-free along the back line. And, best of all, this morning we were virtually bird-free, too. Quit yer sobbing, the birds will find someone else to annoy. I've done my time. It was very weird to wake up, look out my bedroom window and see sun in the backyard. Never saw that before.

Now I've gotta plant grass. Then I'll have to mow grass. But at least I'll be able to sleep.