Trees, SUVs and Chainsaws

Yah...so what do they have in common, trees, SUVs and chainsaws?

I couldn't have answered that question either until Thursday of this past week rolled around. Hubby, who has been rather jaunty since his promotion last November, cheerily ambled into our newly air-conditioned bedroom on Thursday afternoon and smilingly inquired of me "Did you know that a tree limb fell on your car?"

Given his cheerful and smiling disposition, it was clear that he was pulling my leg. I think I answered him with something like "Uh huh, yeah, right," and went right back to my computer. But he persisted. "No, really, come see," he urged. But I know his puckish sense of humour, so I naturally assumed that he actually wanted me to "discover" something new or amusing that he brought home...and so I went along with him and padded barefoot behind him out to the garage.

Imagine my surprise when he opened the garage door and in the driveway I saw a huge tree limb, with all its associated leaves, twigs, branches, bits and bobs, astraddle the bonnet of my Mercedes ML! He was not kidding!

Upon examination (after my heart was returned to its normal position in my chest), it wasn't as bad as it looked. Although the entire bonnet was buried under a heap of green, the limb hadn't fully separated from the tree and it was tenuously suspended just inches above the paint. Slowly, carefully, Hubby backed the car down the driveway until it had cleared the Limb of Damocles. Miraculously, the car was unscathed, but now we were faced with the problem of getting a humungous tree limb down without squashing anybody or sending someone into heatstroke...our little bow saw was going to take a lot of sweat to get through those broken limbs.

So today we took ourselves off to De La Rey, Cape Town's answer to Home Depot or Lowe's, and ended up bringing home a 2000W Ryobi electric chain saw. A rather pricey alternative to the bow saw, to be sure, but it cut through those tree limbs like a hot knife through butter. Hubby, an engineer and not one of those super-macho lumberjack wanna-be types, seemed to enjoy the experience tremendously. Bzzzzzzzzzzt! Before I knew it, the offending limbs were in the driveway and in only a few minutes more, those limbs were cut into manageable pieces and stowed away. Only a dearth of chain oil slowed his hack and slash enjoyment of his new toy.

Next Saturday promises to be an interesting day. By then Hubby will have secured a supply of chain oil and it's a sure bet that no woody plant in either the front or the back garden will be safe!