Augh!

Tired of being in a bad mood.
Thought the toddlers had zapped it out of me yesterday, but today Asplundh showed up and stoked the coals. Giving it some thought, this is a Fresh Bad Mood, cause the toddlers and yoga and wine really did the trick yesterday. Who can be grouchy when met with all that sweetness and light and snuggle potential at the school gate?

I digress.
We have a lovely willow tree in the front yard. It's not without A Sordid History itself, but we continue to care for and love it.

Last year, the first year it was trimmed for the power lines, I thought to try and have a thoughtful conversation with the hired saws responsible for trimming branches. That didn't work out so well. I was left with a butchered tree, and about the polar opposite effect that I was lead to believe would occur. Gone, poof.

So this time, I felt better prepared. But no. Another hack job. After expressing my Extreme Disapproval and retreating hastily and unkindly inside, I thought better of it, collected myself and went back to dole out a bit of constructive criticism.
CC, as in "when you said "trim" that lead me to believe you are not taking FEET off the top of the tree. Or cutting off major limbs. It makes me think the tree is getting a little hair cut, as in "trimming" the branches that are actually touching the powerlines. CC as in, "Maybe when you speak to people, you should be Very Clear about the end result; i.e. "We plan to take at least 4' off your tree and leave a gaping hole that you will be able to see every morning this winter from your cozy living room." "Maybe you ought to stay out here and supervise us, because we are not professional arborists and don't really care that you have to look at this every day. We have a job to do and it does not call for thoughtfulness or beauty."

They followed the cut from last year, which is what I spend a while telling them was the wrong approach, how further topping the tree wouldn't help it grow away from the power lines, and in fact, it still need time to recover from what their conspirators did last year. We had a Professional Opinion and everything - So please, that there? No Touchy.
I would have grabbed my coffee and not learned the same lesson yet another way. I am peeved and sheepish and let down because I felt I was proactive and polite and being heard. I learned from History Y'all! I was not doomed to repeat it!!

Afterwards, all I could hear was, "I agree m'am, that does look bad".

And they did clean up their mess. That, I will give them.

*sigh* Then I was back in the basement sewing. It's kinda hard to sew adorable and lovely baby blankets after that upset. Stop by the market and see which ones are full of *hate*. He he. Kidding. But just in case, the Smoking One better cook dinner. Just to be safe.