Thursday

Our Thursday began slow and sleepy.  Hugo had a low grade temp and wanted to stay home from school.  The morning found us lollygagging around the house with the girls as we tried to stay cool in the morning heat.  Hugo had a friends birthday party to attend right after school and I was on the fence about if we would go or not, Hugo wasn't sick, sick.  The gift was wrapped and waiting, the girls had been dressed in their party attire, yet we waited, still unsure I was.  Then the phone rang and our decision was made...  Doot, da doot, daaaaa doooo Papa was coming home early!  With back-up on the way, we decided we would celebrate at our friend Rowan's party.  When I went in search of Hugo to tell him the good news, I found him passed out in the big chair.

After the party and a trip to Sonic, we arrived back home where Cesar announced that today was the day that the dead pine was coming down and that he was the MAN to make it happen!  "Could you please call the neighbor for help?" became my mantra for the day.  Nope.  My husband was determined to do the job alone.

I backed up the van way, way down the lane just in case the tree landed where it wasn't supposed to.  Cesar moved his truck and his new fancy pants tractor far, far away also.  Don't want anything to happen to the tractor!

See that tiny spot of blue up on the ladder?  That's Cesar.  A few hours later he was up twice as high sawing off limbs all around the trunk.  I couldn't handle it.  I had to go in the house.  Hugo was in and out.  He was very curious.  He did sense the danger of limbs crashing down, chainsaw buzzing, his only Papa stories up off the ground and decided that time indoors, in blissful denial of what was happening outdoors, with Momma was a good idea.  So in and out the door our Hugo was.

Oh.  And why did our Papa climb so high buzzing off tree limbs along the way?  He wanted to tie a rope around the upper part of the tree so that he could use his truck to finally pull it over exactly where he wanted it to land. 

Sabine and Marlo rolled around on the carpet chewing on toys happy as could be.  They are such good babies.

One of the great things about Cesar is that he is a tidy worker.  He always cleans up his work space, indoors or out.  Here he is cleaning up the lawn after the first few limbs had been felled.

Notice the growing pile of tree limbs, bonfire anyone? 

I can taste the smores already.

This is the last of the pics of the pine standing.  It is the last of the ladder growing ever higher and higher skywards.  It is the last of my husband with his shirt on.  Once he began to make the bird mouth cuts into the trunk of the tree, which was the end of the end for our pine, Hugo and I hid out in the house.  Hugo cried and cried because he wanted to be out with his Papa.  I cried and cried unto the Lord to please let my husband live and to not let our young son witness his Papa maim himself with the chainsaw before his very own young eyes.  Please, oh please Lord.

Cesar propped a normal sized house ladder against the pine's trunk, hoisted the chainsaw above his head, and began sawing his bird mouth shaped cuts.  Sawdust flew everywhere.  I sorta wish I had photographed that.  It was frightening though.  I was pretty much frozen in place as I held onto Hugo and watched out the third floor picture window.  At one point Cesar looked up at us and asked if I wanted to get some pics for the blog.  The blog!  You are thinking of the stupid blog!  I yelled at him to make the cuts into the tree lower so that it was safer and easier!  That's what he needed to be thinking about!  There he was, having so much fun and I was petrified.  Some little boys never fully grow up.  I had wondered if I should cover Hugo's eyes, just in case. 

Triumpf!

The tree landed exactly where he wanted.  He did it.  

And, oh yes.  The neighbors did come running when they heard the... indescribable (now that I think of it) sound of the pine snapping and crashing into the earth of our yard.  They were impressed but did repeat themselves many times by saying that they are only a phone call away.  Cesar thought for sure that I had called them, but I didn't.  They are just good neighbors.

The empty stump reminds me of one of my fave children's books The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein.  So sad.  Cesar has plans to use the stump as a platform for a future fort for Hugo.  With all his free time...