Good-Bye Pine Trees!!!

Well, I think I've finally convinced Missy to let me cut down those darn pine trees in the back of the house. We worked non-stop for 8 hours last weekend cleaning up the leaves and pine needles that accumulate under the trees back there, and I think that helped her realize how crappy of a job that is every year, and how cutting them down will really help. We filled at least 20 large trash bags full of leaves, twigs, and needles, and a whole trailer full of branches. Both of us were scraped, cut, and very sore from all the hard work. We had to take the kids to Lori's house for the day so we could work interrupted and not have to worry about what they were getting into.

My original plan was to cut them down and replant some smaller shrubs like the ones by the pool pump, but she was never really on board with that idea. Last weekend I offered to put up a privacy fence in place of the shrubs and she liked that idea much better. The reason those trees are such a pain is because all the leaves from our neighbors behind us blow into those trees and accumulate on the ground. If you don't clean them up in the spring before you open the pool, every little gust of wind blows leaves and pine needles into the pool which really clogs up the skimmer. By getting rid of all that crap, you can stay on top of the ones that do get through and keep the pool fairly clean. I think a privacy fence will be the best solution because it will block ALL the leaves and not even let them get onto our property! That way each spring, we'll just have a few leaves to clean up like we do each year around the rest of the landscaping. Then we're going to put some small flowers or shrubs between the metal fence and the privacy fence. That will look much better (Missy's main concern) and will be very low-maintenance (my main concern!). Now all we have to do is find someone who will remove 12, 40-50 foot pine trees for less than $1500! Fun, fun!