Deck Garden
The Callary pear tree, just behind the ladder in the photo above, had become diseased, so Ken insisted that he would take it down with his chainsaw. I protested and did a search on YouTube for “old men on ladders with chain saws” but it did not dissuade him. He was so pleased that the tree did not fall onto the house!
However, the large Emerald Ash tree has not been as cooperative. Late one Sunday afternoon, we looked up to see a fifteen-foot branch dangling from a partially broken limb. With a large number of guests expected the following evening, Ken grabbed his pole saw, climbed up this ladder, and began sawing. This lucky elderly man survived a sudden seven-foot fall just after this photo was taken. He would tell you the cut on the top of his head required only ONE stitch, but I would clarify that it was a CONTINUOUS FOUR-INCH stitch across the entire top of his skull. Even so he still hosted the annual Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society garden tour the next evening.