Friday, May 11, 2007

oh boo moment #472 or happy mother's day



we have some close, personal, rel...er...friends who move full grown trees as a business.

believe it or not - it is BIG business in californistan.

when spoiled people build their empire, they DO NOT like starting from a seedling - ANYTHING! that is for us lowlier sorts.

recently, they were commissioned to move a clump of palms from point "a" to point "b". from what i remember of the conversation, the clump of trees (60' tall) weighed nearly 60,000 pounds!

it takes special equipment and much knowledge to get the root wad out of the ground without damaging them. these people have been doing this for years and have yet to lose a tree.

first, the spoiled person must eyeball the tree or trees they want, go to the owner and ply them with dollars and generally the owner of the tree(s) will succumb to the dollar signs. the spoiled person then contacts the tree mover, who says "yea" or "nay".

in this case everybody said, "yea." whoopee! it was the dreamjob of any tree mover and the original owner didn't think it too shabby either - the spoiled person gave them $75,000 for the clump of trees - that's SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND SMACKAROOS!

the cost to move the trees was equal to the price of the trees - i ain't lyin'.

when talking to one of the tree movers what would possess someone to spend this kind of money on trees for crying out loud - his response (paraphrased), "well, apparently, her husband is having an affair with another woman, she won't stand for a divorce, so she's making his life miserable by spending his wealth!"

...oh boo...

people - be good to the mothers in your life, not just on mother's day, but everyday - you just never know...

30 comments:

Al-Ozarka said...

My wife could only afford a Bradford Pear or two.

nanc said...

daddio - they're free for the pickin' here in arkansas...

cube said...

That's an expensive affair. Hope it was worth it to the schmuck.

Steve Harkonnen said...

Bradford pear trees are terrible. They fall apart in storms, land on cars....they're too fragile, but they grow quickly.

As for Mother's Day, I think it has become far too commercialized. I say ban it outright, and just give moms a hug.

Besides, we're going to be in the middle of moving and cleaning our old house before the new owner on Mother's Day.

I wish everyone a good day.

Anonymous said...

If you ever need a Maple tree or two, let me know. I think I could part with them for $75K or so....

nanc said...

i've heard of black walnut trees going for around thirty grand - they use the wood for veneer.

why, up in k.c. - they'll pay around five hundred bucks a pick-up load for hickory for bbq!

nanc said...

p.s. - farmer, we don't need ANY trees on the mountain - one can hardly spit without hitting a tree of some sort!

steve - if bradford pears are pruned properly and well maintained - they are beautiful trees to have - all the ones we have are growing wildly and not much use except for the beauty they exude when in full bloom.

cube - the man needs a head transplant and his wife needs a good whuppin'!

J.M. Seals said...

When I was working with a tree "surgeon" we would offer to remove bradford pear trees for free.

WomanHonorThyself said...

awwwwwwwww...that sure is alot of buckaroos but spendin his dough aint gunna ever make her happy thats for dang sure!..HAPPY MOTHERS DAY NANC!!!

nanc said...

oh woman - the love of it is at the root of ALL evil!

nanc said...

why, jacob?

Always On Watch said...

My neighbors' 20-year-old Bradford pear trees pretty much bit the dust in the last wind storm. In fact, one of them fell across the driveway just outside the garage door, and the tree removal didn't occur for at least three days. Oh boo!

Freedomnow said...

The Bradford Pear tree sounds perfect for us here in Californiastan.

We dont have many storms so the trees wont get too messed up, but when we do have a storm there are enough cars parked all around in order to catch those branches. We average one point something cars-per-person out here.

nanc said...

aow - was that the tree that knocked the power out, that shut you down?

fern - the palms came from down at your neck of the woods - betcha'll look at them differently from now on?

annnnnnnnnd, i'll be you'll never get rich, get married AND cheat on your wife!

Anonymous said...

Some people have more money than they know what to do with. No patience, got to have everything now. They cheat themselves out of the joy of watching something grow and flourish.

People here in Tennessee have a bad habit of planting bradford pear trees in rows along power lines. when they grow too tall, they have to lop them off. What's with that? Just poor planning?

Brooke said...

There's nothing sillier than a wide, stubby tree.

LOL!

FLORIAN said...

Happy Mother's Day Nanc!
Hope you have a great day with the family!

I'll be grillin' for my mom and giving her a nice gift card so she can go shopping.

Van Helsing said...

Is it too late to buy a clump of trees for Mother's Day? I've go $150,000 that's burning a hole in my pocket. (If only!)

nanc said...

which just goes to show - some people have waaaaaaaaaaay more dollars than sense!

nanc said...

thanx, flo! i know you're very good to you mother and that makes THIS mother smile *:]

The Merry Widow said...

Florian-When a woman looks at a man and is considering him seriously, the way he treats his mom is a very heavy weight in the balance!
In other words, GOOD ON YOU!

tmw

nanc said...

true, tmw - no truer words spoken in this world. my m-i-l is really a blessing - i give her almost sole credit for nancpop being as attentive as he is.

Kelly said...

I can see a HUGE war breaking out between the two of them. Every see War of the Roses? Ya, that kind of war.


Happy Mother's Day, Nanc.

nanc said...

it's a silent war of wills, i'd say. perhaps they'll make up in bankruptcy court...oh boo...

thank you, kelly and right backatcha!

Gayle said...

Happy Mother's Day, Nanc!

My palm tree only cost $69.00, and that's because I'm not so spoiled I can't wait for it to grow all by itself. We also planted it ourselves, and a six foot palm tree isn't that easy to plant! I can't imagine spending that much money for a clump of trees. Oh well... to each their own, I guess.

The Merry Widow said...

Gayle-I've spent 0 cents on a palm tree, found the coconut at the beach, carried home and planted it!
The others were about $12 each for the other 2.
Growing your own is fun!

tmw
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Anonymous said...

Happy Mothers Day everyone, i just, came to....believe, moms are great. Except mine, she ch........ews.

Anonymous said...

Makes the trees grow though, hmm...

nanc said...

now mickey - if i can put up with a flaming kennedy liberal mom for the last 50+ years and still love and honor her...you can too!

Anonymous said...

touch'e