Another tree bites the dust

Well, you all might not think this story is worth the bits it's written with, but today I got to cut down a tree. Where I am house-sitting, there are 2 aspen trees that are, well, for the most part, dead. Yeah, there's one or 2 branches that are still green, but the rest is history. We aren't talking large trees here, about 6" in diameter.

I got the first one down no problem. (I even had a rope on it just to be sure it didn't hit the neighbor's car.) After it was down, this lady pulled up, got out and started walking towards me with a concerned look on her face. "Do you have permission to cut this tree down?" I had some strange thought that she knew the answer. "No," I said. "Is this your house?" "No," again I replied. (Sometimes it's more interesting to not venture further information...) I did mention that I was house-sitting, and it didn't seem she wasn't too concerned about all this, because I had the garage open w/ all the tools and whatnot there -- it was obvious that I had access to the house. "Are you related to these people?" Again, "No..." I mentioned the owners were in Switzerland and had been since November, expected to be back in September sometime.

After some conversation, I found out that she was on the Homeowners Association board, and there are people that hound them because of the infractions found throughout the complex. She did soften up, and explained that I needed permission to cut down a tree, because of the Homeowner Association's CC&Rs. "Even a dead tree?" I quired. "Yes" was the dreaded reply. She went on to say that I needed to have at least two 2" trees in the front yard, so I better not cut the other tree down until I had another somewhere in the front yard. Well, I didn't have the gumption to do that today, so I left the other tree as it was - tall and straight and almost completely naked.

The good news is that in the end, I did get permission to cut the tree down (that I already cut), and had enough sense to not take out the other.

The moral of the story - don't assume you don't need permission to cut down a dead tree.