No until it's yes.

It is said that the answer is no unless one asks. Have you ever found a minute of bravery to simply ask a question? I often wonder how my life would have evolved had I have asked more questions. What would have been removed and trimmed? I made such a call a few days ago to DOT asking them about two trees growing nicely in my front yard that was shared by the state. They had said that they could indeed take them down, but yet they remained, for two years they remained.

Because they were once more in the neighborhood, so I again requested the removal. At first, they again glanced up at the seemingly happy trees and questioned why. Personally, I didn’t wonder why, but realized that they were only seeing the street side. How many other things in life are like that street side that we have to explain to others who can’t see the backside of a situation?

Trees are a draw for many creatures. They provide shade for people obviously, but they also provide homes to birds and rodents, squirrels in particular, but also raccoons too. Rodents are known for more than their cute eyes and fluffy tails. They are known to eat people out of house and home literally. I have fixed many rodent holes up high and down low. Even my husband thought they were especially cute until a red squirrel sat in defiance eating through the solar light cords wrapped on the deck.

That was the day he waged war on the sweet demons. And while they do jump from treetop to rooftop, that wasn’t the only reason the trees had to go. They also had to go because something was missing. That something missing was half of the tree. From the front, it appeared healthy, whole and vibrant, but from the back the bark was missing and the legs were starting to sever. Eventually, that tree would be coming down on top of the traffic, our cars or on the people who would walk by the house.

Life has no timeline for unexpected events. Falling trees are the same. With every wind, we find branches strewn about like a toddler's tipped-over toybox. They come down when they come down and today DOT brought their bucket trucks to begin trimming away the branches first bringing them down systematically. Tomorrow, the log truck will come and carry the remaining tree carcasses away. Instead of two trees falling, one healthy and one not healthy, they agreed to take a third as well, a very unhealthy tree.

So, it was a good day even though as each branch fell, it did make me feel a bit bad. There is an abundance of analogies that I can see in every twig that could make me sad. Still, I know that the light will come in now, the rodents will be kept at bay now and no one will get hurt from a falling tree now, at least not those three. We cannot control all of the damages that we might cause in life or that others might cause to us, but we can guide the pieces down to a gentler ending. I love trees, but I like balance, peace and symmetry more.

We will have more trees that will eventually need to come down, but that day is still a no for me. Those calls will cost me dearly. These calls were free. For now, I will be happy to see the sun not have to play tag with the leaves or fight its way through the branches. This summer I will find a new inspiration to cut growing grass and flowers that can now bloom. I will savor the blueberries that can now see sufficient light to encourage their bed partners, roses of many colors. I won't mind the thorns as much. More importantly, now I can enjoy the rodents more at a distance where they can not eat through my gutters, my shingles or my clapboards quite so easily.

I do not like to talk on the phone, but I am tired of repairing the holes. Instead, I like to watch the birds fly by and sing their happy songs, but today I took a moment of bravery to answer a phone that came in as restricted. Anyone could be on a restricted number and that brings me stress too, but today the sun shone, the trees gave up their blockages and the man was very nice, attentive, and willing to help. Today, my usual no became a yes and that is hopeful for tomorrow’s more challenging question that has also been no for a very long time.