TREE WOMAN
The way I did it.
I trimmed a tree.
Just for fun … and to see if I could do it.
I set this challenge for myself when I discovered that we had been trimming our trees all wrong. I found this out when the city’s arborist spoke at a commission meeting I was attending for work. I wasn’t paying full attention . . . after all, we weren’t actually trimming our trees ourselves. We hire tree guys to come and do the work, and I figured they knew what they were doing. But my interest perked up when the arborist announced that homeowners and tree companies could be fined for over-trimming. I didn’t know that was a thing.
Florida’s official state tree is the sabal palm, and, as such, it is closely monitored and protected. We have 21 of them on our 100’ x 100’ residential lot. I know—that’s a lot of trees! I counted twice. I also now know that our tree guys had been trimming them wrong. They typically left only a few fronds sticking straight out of the top of each tree. As a result, the poor things looked more like giant paintbrushes than palm trees.
If we continued to trim them incorrectly, we could potentially be fined thousands of dollars. After a little research, it didn’t take long for lots of answers to pop up. Once you type in a question, AI sends more information than anyone could possibly need. I discovered that only the dead fronds should be removed in a 9 o’clock—3 o’clock pattern and thought, “That won’t be so hard.”
So, on Sunday morning … I selected Sunday because my husband would be home to witness my experiment and would call the ambulance if I fell off the ladder. He golfs on Saturdays. Before the sun got too hot, I extended the ladder to its full height, propped it against one of the shorter trees surrounding the pool, and climbed up, clutching a borrowed long pole saw. I wasn’t sure if I would ever use the saw again after this experiment, so I didn’t want to invest the money to buy one of my own. Not yet, anyway.
The angle was a little tricky, and the weight of the fully extended pole saw felt heavier at the top of the ladder than it did on the ground. However, as soon as the first dead palm frond fell to the ground, I was hooked.
It was fun!
It was exhilarating!
It took about thirty minutes to remove the dead fronds. I had to reposition the ladder twice. I also removed the branch containing flowering seed pods and felt lucky that the bees I saw the week before buzzing around the tree’s flowers had moved on.
The tree looked fresh but not overdone … like a perfect haircut. It felt good knowing that I had done it. And a trip to the hospital wasn’t necessary.
The way I did it. Tree woman.
This is part of what I’m calling Expeditionvision—my quest to find what a meaningful life looks like. One experiment per week: Possible strategies for a happier life. Trying things on purpose and paying attention to what happens. I’m not offering advice or giving instructions. I’m just sharing the way I did it. If there’s something that you’ve been wanting to try—but haven’t—I’d love to hear about it. I’m open to reader suggestions for future experiments.
Field Notes: For Paid Subscribers
Paid subscribers, I’ve added a short field notes section below with what surprised me the most, what I didn’t expect, what I might do next time, plus things I’m still working on.