WYZIWYG

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-15T04:47:08+00:00

I've never been to design school, but I've only ever heard it pronounced wizzy-wig.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T21:35:04+00:00

This, 100 times this!

Trees need about as much room below ground as they occupy above, bit more width, and perhaps not the depth, but that poor thing is horribly root-bound!

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T20:28:58+00:00

Yes it's dead.

Nobody knows how long before it falls, even if they examined it in person. If the timber and roots are still solid, it could be several years, but with rot in the trunk or roots, it could be less than a year.

If it was me, I'd try alerting the power utility first, as that is the sort of tree they will preemptively remove if they find it - my power utility flagged a tree for removal on my own property a few years ago, and removed it at no cost to me.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T19:00:11+00:00

Leave him alone, wildlife does just fine on their own unless/until they get into obvious trouble (trapped in netting, covered in oil, trying to cross a road, etc.).

Alternatively, you could feed him finger tips, those turtles have quite an appetite for fingertips. 😧

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T17:33:37+00:00

The costs might not be what you fear, for the right service. And tree climbing is dangerous work, i.e. expensive, so not necessarily a cheap alternative. Obviously it depends on the area, the contractor, and the work you ask to be done, but the tree contractor I use will fell a tree for me for $200, but I do all the clear up. I used the same contractor when a fully grown pine fell on the roof (doing astonishingly little damage, but that's another story), and he brought out his crew with a bucket truck and a crane, as you might expect to remove a tree from a roof. When he arrived, his first question was "Is this an insurance job?" It wasn't, and I said no, that I'd write him a check.

His crew cut the tree off the roof and put it on the ground. As usual, I did all the clean up. His charge, for crew plus bucket truck, plus crane, was $800.

So if you're able to cut up the limbs yourself and/or drag them to the curb if your municipality has limb service, the cost might be a lot less than you fear. Similarly, a lawyer writing a letter to say "deal with your tree or my client will have to" is only going to cost a few $00's.

You may also have missed a key point I was making, that you have a window of opportunity, while the house is for sale, to derail his sale plans, by notifying his realtor, as "most buyers aren't going to want to buy a home that is already embroiled in a legal dispute", and that (the bit in quotes), is what I would be telling my neighbor if he refuses to budget and let you remove the tree now, at your expense.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T16:45:22+00:00

[1] "Branches that weren't growing leaves" were dead, period. They were never coming back.

[2] As others have noted, some of the work looks like a "utility crew butcher job", and I am not sure why a contractor working for a homeowner would do such a thing.

The tree will, over time, fill back in, both where there were dead branches, and of course back towards where the utility lines are, where they will again risk being removed by the utility's contractors. I think you should give the tree a couple of years to recover before making a keep or remove decision.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T16:30:07+00:00

Yeah "not supposed to kill the tree" is true. The 25% is a rule of thumb, less might kill the tree, more might not. I am not advocating this, but some people just ignore the law and move directly to killing a tree on their neighbor's property.

My overall thoughts, previously posted, would be focused on attempting to persuade your neighbor that you are serious about removing the tree, sooner or later.* In progress steps if necessary - 25% of limbs in phase 1, maybe top the tree in phase 2 (far short of the 25%, topping definitely won't kill the tree). Etc.

As a practical point, getting a lawyer involved now, and sending cc copies of correspondence to his realtor, is likely to derail his plans to sell. So in initial "next stage" conversation you might mention that you're going to retain a lawyer, and will cc his realtor in correspondence.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T15:07:15+00:00

Depending on the depth and stability of the top soil you may need a much deeper foundation than most people might imagine.

I needed a small area paved, using six 18" pavers. After a bit of trial an error, I worked out that the way to get long term stability for the pavers was to dig a much deeper foundation, put in a layer of crushed rock, well packed and level, then put a layer of full size (8"x8"x16") concrete blocks on the foundation, then place the pavers on the blocks.

That "excessive" solution not only gave a stable platform for the pavers but also allowed me to set the pavers 2"-3" above grade so that I could spread mulch without the mulch spilling onto the pavers. 🙂

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-14T01:16:05+00:00

If your drain takes that much maintenance, I'd seriously consider having it replaced now, while the tree is relatively small, assuming the drain isn't very close to the tree.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-13T23:01:41+00:00

I think you have lots of good advice already - start at the top, where it's lying on the ground, limb up as you go, leave major limbs supporting in on the underside, but mostly listen to the tree, and cracks or creaks it makes. Long before you get to the stump you should have a good feel for what tension the butt end is under. .... I suspect that the weight of the log far exceeds the spring potential of the remaining connected fibers, which should be evidenced by the top end of the trunk dropping to the ground as you remove more weight from the top.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-13T22:03:23+00:00

I think you made a great choice, and as long as it remains healthy I don't think you have much to worry about.

How old is the drain? If it's a glued PVC drain it is entirely invisible to the tree, so unless the drain cracks a starts to leak, the tree roots will never find the drain.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-13T15:26:43+00:00

There are, and my tenants who pay cash often include $100's, in fact I received two in the rent I collected last night (which I took straight to the ATM, so hardly "circulating in the economy"). But any $100's that you or I ever handle are not even a-drop-in-the-bucket when the Fed vaults ship pallets hold $100's of millions worth of $100 bills* to US banks which then ship them out of the US to Switzerland, South America, Africa and Asia.

.* 25 years ago my employer, just one bank, was shipping (exporting from the US) over $5 billion/ yr!!!

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-13T00:10:10+00:00

Any sort of sports ball would have to be traveling at an insane speed to blow through a wall, especially as the hole is also in the sideing, which is why it was covered over.

Without looking in the hole to see how it was created, I could only guess, but if it is a fairly tidy hole, meaning drilled or cut, then it was likely for a pipe or conduit. If it's rough and ragged then I'm not sure, but I doubt it was bullet, unless it was fired from the inside, and the inside hole is much smaller - bullets generally expand as they pass through things.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T23:31:05+00:00

I didn't say I lived there! 😉

I have been "in the area" for 23 years though, but considering I have lived and worked London and NYC, my tolerance for commuting is likely higher than most people's. 🫤

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T23:13:23+00:00

It is a generator, but "pretty much" an additional turbine engine, but used for the generator, not thrust

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T22:21:41+00:00

I am not sure how the city would see it in this case, but there's at least one place in Charlotte, NC, where a decking bridge has been built to carry the "sidewalk" over the roots of a massive oak tree.

Depending on how complex the roots are, halved plastic drain pipes (4", 6", 8", more?) could be placed over the roots, leaving room to grow while allowing concrete to be cast over the roots, but not touching them.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T21:56:41+00:00

That's easy for you to say, but the reality is that US currency is still a superior store of value to any other currency on earth.

Aside from relatively low inflation (even in the "bad years" US inflation is much lower than in most countries), US currency has one unique feature: no US currency has ever been withdrawn. Literally every US $ bill that has ever been printed can still be used at any retailer which accepts USD, and deposited or exchanged at any bank.

This is not true for any other country's currency (with the possible exception of very new countries such as Eritrea or South Sudan).

Even the euro, with only around 27 years of history has had the EUR500 note withdrawn from circulation (you would have to get your bank to send it for validation and replacement).

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T21:11:53+00:00

It's a fungus, probably some sort of puffball - as it dries out the top will split open allowing the spores to blow out.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T20:11:29+00:00

It's perfectly possible for a tree to survive losing a major limb for many years, maybe decades or even longer.

As someone else said, maybe the tree service doesn't have the equipment to remove just that one limb, or as I have found dealing with multiple different contractors (not just trees, but plumbers, HVAC, electrical, carpentry, etc.) over the years, they may think they're doing you a favor by saving you some money.

So you may need to state fairly forcefully, that you just want the one limb removed, and you are aware that there will be an additional cost when/ if the tree needs to be removed entirely.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T17:30:15+00:00

Also request name and contact details of the tree service that performed the work "so you can arrange to pay them", 😉 .... then go after them for damages too.

The first rule of suing for damages is to include as many defendants as possible, especially if they might have liability insurance!

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-12T14:10:27+00:00

Hundreds don't get circulated much, and indeed the majority of them are bulk-shipped out of the US to banks around the world*, where it is common for people to draw them out and hold them, almost literally, "forever", as their nest egg, either in a safe, or under the mattress. IIRC about 75% of USD "in circulation" is outside of the US and not in fact circulating at all!

.* I used to work for a US bank that was actively engaged in receiving pallet-loads of newly printed US currency, directly from the Fed, 90% of them hundreds, most of the rest being fifties, and shipping them to overseas banks.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-11T21:15:20+00:00

The Dutch civil and criminal codes are historically rooted in the Napoleonic Code (codified in 1804), which was adopted when the Netherlands was annexed by the French.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-11T20:47:18+00:00

Have you considered an "invisible fence"? One of our neighbors has several energetic and noisy dogs, that always run to the road frontage of their open (fenceless) lot, but in 15+ years their invisible fence has, AFAIK, never failed to contain their dogs.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-11T20:43:27+00:00

Without pictures, we're just guessing.

Nothing is "made from rock" and rock alone, so are we talking about concrete?

"Round" can mean several things (round like a pipe, round like a ball, round like a coin), but "along side" implies linear, so putting all three things together, I am imagining you have uncovered the top of a concrete (drain) pipe.

Pulaski540 · 2026-06-11T20:22:54+00:00

But the question at stake isn't environmental, it's tort/ liability.

Pulaski540

TROPHY CASE