Ok, it’s silly not to type with caps. But I like subjects without caps. So I had this 30-ft tall dead tree in my backyard ever since I’ve lived in the house. I didn’t really realize it was dead until after I had made plans to buy this house as-is. The tree could’ve easily fallen on to the neighbor’s house, or mine, and insurance doesn’t cover damage from fallen dead trees that you knew were dead. So I decided that, after a whole year of home ownership, my first major improvement would be to get rid of the tree.

I didn’t shop around too much. I got one ridiculously high quote. I got one quote from a service recommended on a local list-serv. I went with that one. On the phone with the service’s owner this morning, I was intrigued to hear that they could probably clear away the wasteland that has been my backyard for what I thought was a very reasonable rate. The owner went into a bunch of details of what could be done, but I couldn’t understand him through a cell phone connection and his thick accent. I got myself home to talk to him in person. It appeared they had already commenced the yard clean-up. But it was looking really good. I told him to go ahead with it. I couldn’t stick around, but I trusted they’d do a good job.

Well, they did a good job of uprooting every living thing within the perimeter of my backyard with the exception of a few trees that dot my property line. I basically have a field of dirt in the backyard. It’s quite impressive. The problem is, I really thought we had been on the same page that it was the area beyond the lousy chicken-wire fence (about three-fifths of the backyard) that I wanted “cleaned up”, and I assumed “cleaned up” meant that piles of leaves and debris would be cleaned up and a walking area created between the rear of my house and the back alley. No, “cleaned up” meant obliterating everything.

I’ve been told this might be for the best. Now I can landscape however I’d like. But I have no money for landscaping. I had no money for this backyard gutting. So I think I’ll be stuck with a dirt/mud pit for awhile. The guy did take a couple hundred dollars off the bill due to the misunderstanding. I would actually recommend him, but I’ll just share his name privately with anyone who’s interested.

I’ll need to show some before-and-after (and, ideally, someday, after-after) pics.