Arrogant City

The garbage trucks came and went. The city's tree cutting trucks rolled in onto the street. They did not stop at our house. The tree in front of our house has dangling branches touching the car. There are dead branches in the tree that have been falling down.

The city's tree cutters told me I had to phone the city to call them in. Just because they're already on the street, doesn't mean they automatically go around to all the houses and trim their trees. So I phoned the city's forestry department. Who knew the city had a forestry department? The woman told me an inspector will come by and assess the tree to determine if it needs pruning. It'll take 12 weeks before he shows up. Then, any trimming needed will take place after that.

This is mid-October. That means the inspector won't even look at the tree till mid-January. Any trimming will likely take place in the Spring. That means over the winter, when the dead branches are laden with snow, they could fall on innocent passersby or smash on top of our car.

If I go and trim the tree myself, I could be fined for damaging city property. This is such a no-win situation. I note that today, October 12, I phoned the city about our tree, just in case I need to sue the city later.