FALL TRIMMINGS 275 - 10-02-09

It is fall!  I am confident you all know that already, but, here in Florida, it is not always as easy to tell as it is in some of your necks of the woods where the foliage explodes in fiery and vibrant hues of yellow, gold, and orange accompanied by a definite new chill in the air.  With the mercury still flirting with the ninety line, we are still swimming and donning our Bermuda shorts and short sleeved shirts, but it is still the season to get things in order for winter.  That is where my son, Ben, entered the picture today.   Since the dad had his open heart surgery nearly ten years ago, the good son has managed to keep his father off the roof and out of the trees, much to his mother’s approval and to his dad’s relief.  Ben is athletic, well built, and agile enough to streak up the rungs to lop off the sagging fronds of the three palms which enhance our curb appeal here at 5515.  I had run a couple errands in the morning and, by the time I arrived at the house, Ben had already cut multiple branches from the largest of the trees and was well into the other two.  Ben had trimmed these same palms last fall as well and was confident that he was well over half done, but I fooled him there – we (note the ‘we’ here, but someone has to supervise, you know) would trim another sixteen fronds before stopping to load the debris into his pickup for a trip to the landfill, more than two dozen branches lopped from the trunks leaving only the central uprights remaining.  They looked awesome, though a little scant from previous years – no worries, they will be back in the spring.  In the mean time, Ben shared with me that he is perfectly fine up to about 10 feet, from 10 to 15 feet, he is kind of okay so long as all work can be done one-handed, for he will have a solid and firm grip with the other.  Since the palms have now exceeded twenty-five, I think he was telling me, “Next fall, when those two guys in a pick-up towing a trailer and missing an average of two front teeth who will be ‘glad ta trim yur palms and haul off all the junk for fifty bucks cash’, you should say ‘okay’, Pop!”  It seems even the kids outgrow fall trimmings, huh?

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