There was a strange looking tree on the east side of our house that had seen its better day.  Apparently it lost its top during a bad storm, and things for this tree went downhill from there.  Some people liked the tree and thought it added “character,” and other people thought it was an eyesore.  I fit in the latter group, and dubbed the tree Creepy Dead Tree.

We’ve lived in our old house for only four years, but still, I’m not sure why it took us so long to make a decision about Creepy Dead Tree.  Sean landed in the “character” group.  He was kind of partial to Creepy Dead Tree, so that may have had something to do with the undecidedness.

We were at a birthday party a couple weeks ago, and struck up a conversation with Adam.  Turns out, Adam is a landscaper, specializing in tree work.  Before I knew it, I was in deep conversation with Adam, telling him all about Creepy Dead Tree, and between the two of us, we were able to convince Sean that it was timber time for Creepy Dead Tree.

Two days later, Adam was at our house, ready to cut down the tree.  He prepped the tree, wrapping rope around the top so as the tree was getting cut, it would land on the yard and not on our house.

He cranked up that chainsaw and started cutting.  And cutting.  Then with one little tip, he called out to his helper to pull the rope and Creepy Dead Tree was down.

And since the top was pretty rotten, it exploded when it his the ground.  And too, as the tree was a pine, he suggested we not burn in our fireplace as sap would accumulate in our chimney.  So he salvaged what he could, chopped it up and stacked it by our fire pit.

Adam finished cutting up the rest of the tree, and when he had me come outside to see his work, he left us with a gift from Creepy Dead Tree:  Adam shaped the trunk into a chair, complete with an ottoman.

The kids were beside themselves when they saw it, and the chair has become home base for hide-and-seek, and kick the can.  Perfect.

So although the tree was creepy, and dead, and needed to come down, it certainly provided a few other gifts as well.  Stay tuned for that post!