Bye Bye Cottonwood

Well, we have officially been broken in as new homeowners. We live in a Home Owner's Association (HOA) neighborhood and got a citation a little over a month ago. Apparently it is breaking the covenant to have "dead or dying trees on the property." We racked our brains trying to figure out how to get out of this huge expense--the dead or dying tree was the 30 year-old cottonwood in our backyard. It was so tall, you could see it from the front of the house! But in the end, we had no option but to take it out. I called one place I found online...they wanted $1,300! When Mom and Tina were here, there was a tree trimming company taking out three trees at a neighbor's house. We stopped by on the way back into the neighborhood, and the guy came by the next day to give us an estimate. $1,700, this time! I called another place, only to be told we live too far away. I was getting ready to just give up...or grudgingly pay the $1,300, when we got a flier in the mail. We had decided we would try one more estimate. Nancy called for us and got a GREAT deal! The men came yesterday and cut down this beast of a tree. I was fascinated and watched the whole time! One man climbed the tree and took it out by sections...and not just small ones either. Two other men carried the debris away. The owner of the company was even on the job and sectioned off the larger wood so it could be carried. We kept about three feet of the stump and may make a table out of it.