Clearing the way. . .

So, after the inspector came out and said the contractors failed to clear the branches over the new lines (and the contractors said they were unavailable for the next few weeks) Miguel decided to take matters into his own hands.

The offending branches were attached to a tree that was probably around 100-plus feet high. We have an extension ladder that goes up to 30 feet. Miguel clambered up the ladder, with a harness that had a rope that myself and his son, Gerardo, were holding onto in case he fell.

After Miguel cleared the ladder, he shook off his boots and let them fall to the ground. Then he shinnied another 15 feet up to a crook in the tree where he could rest; all the while Gerardo and I were keeping him aloft by pulling on the rope attached to the harness.

After we sent up a bottle of water to Miguel by rope, he got ready to shinny up about another 10 to 12 feet to another resting spot in the tree, where he planned on tying himself off, hauling up the chainsaw and whacking the limbs.

At that point, I turned to Gerardo (being somewhat dim-witted, it took me a bit to figure out the plan) and asked if it would be better to just take the whole tree down. Of course, he said, and asked Miguel, who promptly tied off the rope up high and came back down.

Then ensued another batch of work. . .