"Thou shalt not covet.....

[John Keeton]

....thy neighbors tree!!!" This silver maple is in the front yard of friends of ours. I intended to post it before now, but kept forgetting to take a pics. I really should have waited a few weeks until the leaves fall as these pics do not tell the full story. It is covered in burls - all sides, and every limb. Every time I am over there, I lust after this thing. I am sure they would permit me to have it removed, and I have considered it. But, since it overhangs their house, the cost of having it removed by an insured company might be excessive. Ms. Keeton tells me I should check on it.

Recently, a small, dead limb with a burl in the fork of the limb fell from the tree. They saved it for me, but unfortunately it was rotten on the inside. I fear many of these burls may be deteriorating as the tree is starting to decline.

Just thought you guys might want to lust a little with me!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

John - looks to me that they would want to have it removed before it damages their home!! Ask them to save you the wood and you'll turn them a bowl or two!! ;)

[Alan Trout]

Heck I think I would give it a shot. May work out. All you need to do is hook your truck to it and start pulling. I am sure it would not fall on the house:).

Alan

[charlie knighton]

maple is good, maple burl is better, understand your lust John, it would be hard to pass by such a tree on a regular basis

[gary Zimmel]

I'm thinking there is enough wood there to even send a bit to your friends north of the border...
Quit lusting and get out that chainsaw....

[David E Keller]

Why don't you file a lawsuit on behalf of the neighbors claiming the tree is an eyesore and affecting their property values? I'm mean you went to all of that school, so why not put it to use? BTW, I get a chunk of that burl for thinking of such a devious plan!:D

[David DeCristoforo]

Ah... gee... what would one or two little burls hurt? Just be sure to pick a nice dark night and get a good muffler for your chain saw. Who's gonna miss em? If you can't bring yourself to engage in such clandestine activities, I think I have a cousin living near you (witness protection program and all...) named Mario and I know he would do the job for you. Maybe for a bit of the burl. Like sixty percent... OK maybe seventy five. But still, you would get some burl and not have to lose any sleep right? And really, how long do ya think it's gonna be before that thing falls over on that guy's house? You'd be doing him a favor. Just think of all the hassle you would be saving him what with house repairs and fighting with the insurance company and my god, can you imagine how their homeowners policy rates are going to skyrocket once they make a claim like that? They would end up wishing they had let you have the tree anyway.

[Steve bellinger]

Yep David i think that might work out just fine.:D

[Roger Chandler]

I wonder if the good Lord would make an exception for coveting and lust in a case like this............:D:rolleyes:........well, on second thought, maybe just asking permission from the owners might bring a favorable response and a little redemption as well! :D

[David DeCristoforo]

"I wonder if the good Lord would make an exception..."

No way Roger. It doesn't say "Thou shalt not covet....except..." If you're gonna covet, you are just going to have to deal with the ramifications.

[Mike Willeson]

Recently, a small, dead limb with a burl in the fork of the limb fell from the tree. They saved it for me, but unfortunately it was rotten on the inside. I fear many of these burls may be deteriorating as the tree is starting to decline.

That is the unfortunate thing about maple...they often rot from the inside and you don't even realize until they start shedding branches or coming down in a big storm.

Beautiful tree!

[Bob Bergstrom]

Maybe a chain saw with a muffler in the middle of the night. No one would know how it fell. Cutting down a tree up here near a house is a minimum of $2000 and up. My wife's cousin had a big cottonwood taken down for $6000 but it was over 40" in diameter.

[Josh Bowman]

Recently, a small, dead limb with a burl in the fork of the limb fell from the tree. They saved it for me, but unfortunately it was rotten on the inside. I fear many of these burls may be deteriorating as the tree is starting to decline.

John, I agree, the tree is deteriorating and is a hazard to their property. They should remove it immediately due to the its disease and certain risk to other trees. I feel that some one as qualified as you should inspect it upon it removal to insure the disease does not spread and destroy other trees.

[Curt Fuller]

Ok, the way I see it is that the whole "thou shall not covet" thing is kind of vague in this case. It says something about your neighbors house and wife, his slaves, his ox and his donkey. And then is goes on to say something about the other stuff that belongs to your neighbor. But it doesn't specifically say "thou shall not covet your neighbors tree". And besides, it's always easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Just approach it like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. A burl here, a burl there, they'll never miss them.

[Kathy Marshall]

At the very least they should be happy to let you have at it...errr trim off some branches to lighten the load and reduce the chance of it blowing over in a storm. In fact, they'd probably be so happy for you to do that, that they'd pay you for it! I'm equitable for a 50/50 split :D

[Scott Hackler]

Holy Moly, look at the size of the burl up about 20 feet! That limb definitely has to be removed. The weight of the burl will likely snap the limb off and land on the neighbors lawn... :)

[Ed Morgano]

John,
I just had two pretty good sized oak trees removed from one of my houses for 450.00. The guys name is "Slick".....really, that's the only name I got..... and a phone number. He pulled the trees over by attaching a pulley to a nearby tree, climbing the tree he was going to cut, attaching a 9000# line to the tree, thru the pulley and to the back of his truck. His helper put pressure on the rope and he cut.....15 minutes and the tree was on the ground without touching the house. I can get him and be up there whenever you say. :p:D

[Sid Matheny]

I'm drooling on my keyboard! John you better act fast, I'm only a state away from that burl maker.:rolleyes:


Sid

[Reed Gray]

I don't like Silver Maple that size, or rather wouldn't want one that size any where near my house. Out here, they start to fall apart in the 30 inch range, especially if there is any rot. Part of that could be that they are not used to the rain and mild temps, and grow way too fast. Big Leaf Maple lasts longer. If their insurance company looks at it and determines that it is a 'hazard', it has to come down or insurance can get cancelled, and the insurance company won't cover the cost of removal. Could be some nice wood in your future.

robo hippy

[Jeff Fagen]

I would givem' something to shoot for,offer to buy the replacement in exchange for the remnants of that awful diseased thing.About $75.00

[Chris Barnett]

An arborist could remove only the limbs over the house, and while he is up there, he could attach a cable for them...to keep the tree from falling on the house....or for other appropriate purposes as they might develop.

[Norm Zax]

Forget about us lusting with you! We have our own neighbors (read: neighbor's trees) to lust after!
:o

[Greg Just]

I would think that a couple of "Keeton" specially turned burl creations auctioned off would more than cover the cost of the tree remove plus a lot of wood left over so he could send each of use on SMC a piece. Sounds like a plan! :eek:

[Wally Dickerman]

There is a church yard in Tuscon that has a very old olive tree that is a mass of burls right down to the ground. As beautiful as plain olive wood can be, it's hard to even imagine what's inside those many burls. Is it proper to lust after something that's in a church yard?:D

[Dahl Troy Perry]

You can rent one of those cherry pickers from a tool rental places in town they rent for about $140.00 here and you get it Sat-Mon morning they go up to 45 foot . You could start up high and trim the limbs and bring then down that way . I've done it on trees over hanging my house back when I was real dumb and did not turn just burnt the wood .

[Marc Himes]

I am trying to avoid lusting after wood. I have plenty of wood that I can't get to. I have enough wood... I have enough wood... I have enough wood. But WOW that sure looks like nice wood!!!!!

Marc

[Baxter Smith]

Why not???

[Jack Mincey]

Nice looking tree. Not only is it in danger of causing damage by having limbs falling onto their house, but silver maple have roots that grow a long ways from the base of the tree. I'm surprised that they are not having problems with the roots of this tree damaging their foundation as close to the house as it seems to be in the picture. The large silver maples I was giving last year were all three cut to prevent them from doing anymore damage to the foundation of the home they where at.
Good Luck,
Jack

[Jeff Nicol]

John, That is definitley a tease for a woodturner for sure! I saw a big willow tree on the way to my nephews house that looks like the trunk is one, burl on top of burl and it is about 40" across, I need to go take a picture of it and see if I can contact the farmer and see what could be done also! I think we all have come across the "Burl tree" that dreams are made of, but your friends tree is exceptional!

Good luck on the selective harvest of a few burls!

Jeff

[Jon Lanier]

John, that is truly one sick tree.

[Jim Burr]

Why don't you file a lawsuit on behalf of the neighbors claiming the tree is an eyesore and affecting their property values? I'm mean you went to all of that school, so why not put it to use? BTW, I get a chunk of that burl for thinking of such a devious plan!:D

What if you frame Keller for stealing the tree:eek:...act as his defense counsel;)...and use bowl blanks from the tree as payment!!!:D;)

[Betty Fox]

Just call an arborist. He'll most likely say to cut it down. Split the cost of the removal and take some burls. Done and done. Oh my address is...................