Home, I hurry through to the deck that overlooks the yard from the second floor, and nothing seems to have changed. Meade is casually raking the semi-circular lawn. What was I seeing in that photograph? That's the view from the roof — which is 3 floors above the ground. I'd been out walking the shores of Lake Mendota one more time...
He knows I don't like to think of him up on the roof, and I guess he took advantage of my absence to climb out there and clear the gutters.
Here's a view — from last February — of how that branch looks from the second floor — that is, how I see it for many hours every day — to give you an idea of how weird that texted photograph looked to me:
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What is it with women and their fear of men climbing roofs?
Last night my wife and I were watching an episode of Father Brown that involved a healthy young woman climbing a ladder to the roof and she took the opportunity, once again, to remind me never to go up on the roof.
We live in an apartment building. I have no reason to go on the roof, have never tried it, and never will. WUT?
Heh. I have to fit a number of these Honey Don'ts into my schedule of Honey Dos as well.
Whew! Glad Meade is o.k.
The yard looks so lush! It's beautiful!
Hosta la vista, Meade!
David-2 said...
What is it with women and their fear of men climbing roofs?"
I get nervous whenever I see someone on the roof, particular an older man.
I immediately envision falls and broken necks and paraplegics.
I don't even like getting up on stepladders.
"I get nervous whenever I see someone on the roof, particular an older man."
Exception made for Santa Claus.
When I chose my house one thing I liked was that the roof is safe to go onto.
Nonetheless, when I'm on the roof my mantra is, "Don't be Max McGee."
"I don't even like getting up on stepladders."
Yeah, my undoing is likely to be all the tree and bush trimming I do every year. Last year I had a trimmer take the top 4 feet off of 12 evergreens because it had gotten to be really dicey. Probably should take off another two feet.
He knows I don't like to think of him up on the roof, and I guess he took advantage of my absence to climb out there and clear the gutters.
Might be a "guy" thing (if I might be so bold) and goes to the "easier to get forgiveness than permission" truth. I often do the same. When my wife goes away for a few days, I do the projects I know I could not do while she is home. Tree trimming/removal, roof work, running new electrical and cable lines, etc. As time has gone on, there are less and less things on the "wait until she leaves" list as she has gotten used to me doing that sort of stuff.
It's the angle of the dangle. Note the utility line which runs from the pole between the blue and yellow buildings, under the branch and to the house.
In the Summer pic it seems to run into the ground. In the Winter pic it runs to an upper level of the house. Location and perspective can distort one's views, as Althouse well knows.
That's a bough!
Your Hostas look great. Ours seemed to get off to a good start this Spring - until the local deer turned our garden into a McDonalds drive-thru.
We don't want Meade taking risks now. He is about the age that starts drawing some of his Social Security that he paid into for 50 years. By all means, please Womansplain to Meade that the only tool he should use up on the roof is his checkbook.
"....one more time."
I assume you are selecting your words advisedly, and that you don't mean one last time.
Or have you purchased a small home in Orderville, and are making the rounds to say goodbye?
Who's going to call 911?
When I click on the picture and I see it in Flickr, it looks more normal; the small version looks odd, though.
When my grandfather was in his mid 80s, his neighbors called my mom and "tattled" on him - he was up on his roof, re-shingling the whole thing. When she and her sister talked to him about it, he indignantly pointed out that he'd broken the packs of shingles in half, so he was only carrying 20# at a time up the ladder, and could they just butt out for once? He finished the roof without incident, and lived to 92. Awesome man.
"Your Hostas look great."
Thanks. It's been 6 years.
It's against condo rules for me to go up on my roof.
BTW Meade, thanks for the Serviceberry recommendation a few days back. The ones I planted a few years ago are Amelanchier alnifolia 'Obelisk'. They were selected for their high height to width ratio but I don't think it gets as much sun as it wants.
My wife used to live next door to a couple where the man would go up on the roof when he wanted to get away from his wife. He had a chair up there and he'd spend the afternoon. Supposedly, the woman never knew where he disappeared to.
The French can't pronounce un "H" and les Japanese can't pronounce a "G".
So Giboshi is ee-bohsh-ee in Japanese, and Hostas is ohz-tahz in French.
I used to climb up the roof every day to reorient my antenna. When the roof got replaced, they tore down the antenna. I'm too old to put it back up, and too cheap to have someone do it for me.
Thus, the roof is like an unused parking lot...
To climb high and do dangerous work is why the God created man
-- but some other woman's husband, not mine!
Thanks, traditionalguy. I'm a preternaturally young 63 year-old. But I promise you when I start drawing on the Socialist Security I will retire from the roof work, the tree work, and even the pommel horse.
However, I will give up my Race Face riser bar only when you pry it from my cold, dead (white-knuckled) hands.
@Original Mike — ;-)
If you’re doing emoticon shoutouts then surely my leetle matrimonial/horticultural death-pun deserves at least a wink
Sorry for the macro aggression, Ernie. Sedum ya later, pal.
Meade did that deliberately to harass you! He was way high up. Probably balancing on the ridgepole.
Typical man.
RE: females & men on roofs.
A cousin of mine fell off the roof in his early twenties and was paralyzed. His girlfriend stuck by him, but in the end he killed himself - he just couldn't accept life that way. Quite a few people fall off the roof. It doesn't always have a good outcome.
Men who get brutally nagged and abused in this manner should realize that the women involved are trying to keep them alive. It's not the worst thing in the world.
I’m lichen it
That branch does look dangerous and should be taken down safely. Waiting for a high wind to do it for you risks damage to the house and yard, as well as irreparable damage to the tree itself. Even if the tree is not on your property, most locales have provision to remove branches that overhang your property and create a hazard.
All those windows looking back seem oppressive: a) a person's home(s) should be theirs, i.e. not a visually shared space, and b) those houses in this frame are ugly, it's esthetical-pain inducing to be forced to look at them.
Also, there's an above ground wire running through this yard.
I have no idea why anyone would settle w/ living there.
Different strokes for different folks.
There's green stuff all over the branch! Did it fall?
I can't get over how Olmsted-like your back yard is. I live with a typical Industrial Waste-laden Somerville, MA backyard that I have no idea what to do with. I generally just prune and compost; there's no rhyme or reason to anything.
Do a lot of gardening, but in containers. (Have Strawberries and now Blueberries. Need to figure out container sizes for Serviceberries!)
***
Back in Suresnes, the Frenchie would tell me stories about suicidal folks having "roof accidents." I'm panic-stricken afraid of heights. He'd get up on the house roof (a typical French 'cottage' in the Paris Suburbs might be three, even four stories; his place was four) and I'd have to recuse myself to the basement, I was so worried about him.
Back here in Real Life, Housemate does similar. It triggers panic. Okay.
@third grade PB person -- fret not. You'll figure out why Althouse and Meade live where they do, once you figure out the meaning of "esthetical." It will be a long journey for you, and there will be some pain along the way, but it will be worth the ride.
In the meantime, perhaps Joe Scarborough's new music video "Mystified" will help enlighten you, since it did nothing for me (though it did make me reach for my copy of the DSM-5).
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1912698789005771&id=1650795275196125&_rdr
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