You know you're olde when things seem too high-priced. Thus, reeling & clutching at my bosom, I staggered from Home Depot after encountering their Noble Firs for $59.99.
I called Dave's (where I eventually ended up) and was told the cheapest they had was $50.00....still too much. Finally, four days b4 the day, I went to Dave's to see if I could negotiate. It'd been a few years but he recognized me and we got to chatting about business.
He'd rented the empty lot where the owner had, supposedly, gotten the nod of approval from the two storefronts on either side. But the shop=owner to the north was upset when his fence blocked access to the alley. He was only going to be there 25 days, but her distress prompted him to dismantle it (50 feet of 8' chainlink) and move it back 12 feet.
Juan Tabo Blvd is a busy street with tall, sharp curbs that can wreak havoc if you're not paying attention. The 12-foot setback meant the lot was barely visible to the hell-bent-for-leather folks going by. He still had quite a few trees when I ambled in.
His son-in-law was coming to help load up the remaining trees to take to the dump. He told how they began cutting in October and he'd spent the last month on-site 24/7 in the 15-foot travel-trailer; he was ready to go home.
He gestured broadly toward the front of the lot, where the five to seven foot trees stood, as he offered me my choice for $40.00. I let him pick it out and he helped stuff it ("careful now") into Phoebe; it barely fit.
Champion Cat Rescuer by Diego Piraro (link is to his fine art)
The print is by Diego Piraro (link is to his blog). It was my gift to Michelle. He's the artist who does the Bizarro cartoons (link is to his website).
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