Tree stumped!

 Yip folks, a tree stump consumed our past weekend in all its glory. Moving into Pine Haven, we were overwhelmed by the number of huge trees around the house. Some were palms and some were not. After hearing the locals talk about the wild storms and bat problems, there was nothing to be done but to cut down the three big trees that were growing next to the house and water tank. Cutting them all down was the easy part, dealing with the remaining stumps, now that’s a story to behold. This weekend we were consumed with getting one of the two remaining stumps out of the ground. Over the past few years, we have tried a number of things to bump this particular stump out with the tractor. To pull it out with a chain and finally using a pulley like chain called “a come along”. Some suggested to set it alight and others said poisoning was the way to go, neither of these options sounded safe enough for me and grinding it out of the ground was not an option due to the proximity to the water tank, not to mention the price tag attached to this service. We persevered and every so many months, a few roots were chopped up or it was wrenched free a little more. Finally this weekend it was pulled out completely and moved out of the way. The massive hole it left behind was a crater and a half. The hole was filled up again and the ground flattened as if nothing had  just happened there. Without the memories I have, nobody would even have known there was once a huge tree there.  It was with a great sense of achievement that we ended this weekend.