Dancing Men

On our roof...

Ok, I'm really behind on this blog -- so much has been happening (including having to move out of the house, as living there became untenable about 2 weeks ago)...then we went to Chicago…another story.   Anyhow, here's something I wrote nearly a month ago for a teaser…while I try to wrap my head around what's happening now.

TUESDAY, APRIL 28.  10:30 am.  Today, the framing on the SE corner is raised - incredibly satisfying to see CONstruction happening.  Kyle the tree surgeon arrived to do the necessary trimming on our beloved cottonwood tree. Fascinating to watch this very male artistry being performed outside - Kyle is the high-wire acrobat balancing on the cottonwood limbs, deftly maneuvering ropes and chains saws and pole saws in an intimate dance with the tree.  When he lowers the amputated limbs to the ground, they make me think of a lady circus athlete, descending by a graceful elegant jaw, trusting the man above not to drop her….

Kyle and the Cottonwood

Lowering the lady's limb

The Builder’s dance - It's a total cacophony of noise - sledge hammers slam away at the stucco walls, table saws whir, the chain saw screams through living wood, rock and roll jams from a radio (102.5 "I love rock and roll" playing right now. )  Really  -- you need more volume!    

The costumes are hard hats and bandannas, face masks against the dust.  Michael moves constantly through the activity - a quiet and gentle , but focused, conductor.   He looks far more like a sculptor (which he is, in his other life) then a building foreman -  and he looks like a slight little boy among all the burly workmen.   

As I look out, two guys are just outside the window I'm sitting by, tearing apart the stucco.  One is on a ladder removing some of the pergola and trimming the wisteria - someone (heavy) is on the roof doing God knows what, and Kyle is dangling from the cottonwood with a chain saw.  Oddly, both my dog Ani and I are calmly going about our day….

1:30 pm  Ok, so after a brief respite of quiet during lunch, the pounding begins again, and I go into noise overload.   Gotta do something else.