work and tree work

Now that we have work, that's pretty much what I am focused on though I may not have much to do next week if I don't get the art work for the mountain wall. Finally getting some work seems to have opened the gates. We sold a pate de verre piece, won 1^st place at Archway Gallery's show, got a residential commission, got the deposit to start the Invesco commission, two gallery shows for the pate de verre coming up, and now I have three more possible jobs for the etched glass that I have to submit proposals for...one residential, one corporate, and one restaurant. All since the first of August.

Sheesh. Where was all that earlier this year when our total income from our business amounted to less than $1200? Well, no matter. We survived, even if we did eat an inordinate amount of squash from the garden.

So with some of this new disposable income, we had some much needed tree work done. The small maple, already stressed before the drought last year, was continuing to die from the top down. You can see from the stump that it was severely damaged on the inside. The other tree they took down was an old red bud that was mostly dead.

We also had a large branch taken off one of the pecans that was crowding the big maple and the magnolia and another branch off the same tree that was on the roof. Also two branches on the tallow in the little backyard were pruned back some.

And what was supposed to be just one branch off the magnolia that was on the roof, they thought to even it up all the way around to 'make it look nice', so they cut off all the low branches, the ones we could reach to pick the flowers. You barely had to duck under them. Because we were delayed in Houston that day, I wasn't there to stop them, so I'm kind of heartbroken about that.

The result is a pretty big pile of limbs and leaves behind our neighbor's storage buildings. Technically it's part of the 13 Acre Field but he keeps it mowed and maintained. We were detained in Houston the day the tree guys came and so were not there to direct the remains to our burn pile, which, granted, was pretty big already. Anyway, there is now a big pile in my neighbor's area.

They did get sort of permission from Frank, whose son it is that owns that mostly empty half acre between us and Frank. He came out and after talking to them, I guess, said it would be alright.

Anyway, we have yet to see Alan. Either he's been gone or we have. And I'm sure he's seen it but whether or not he got the story from his dad or what it is Frank might have said, I have no idea.

So, last weekend we burned our pile mostly down, until Marc went to check on whether or not we were in a burn ban which, as it turned out, we were. So, mostly mission accomplished, I got the hose and put it out. I was amazed how much water it took to put it out completely, not a wisp left. And it needed to be out because I had to get in there and consolidate the remains.

The resulting pile is still pretty big but not as big as the one we need to move. So since I work at the store on Saturdays, Sunday will be the first chance I get to actually start moving the limbs.