Cutting Trees
By DE
@DaddyEvil (174208)
United States
July 19, 2025 2:24pm CST
Last fall the landlady hired a guy to come cut down several black walnut trees in our yard. (They were growing too close to the house and were likely to cause damage to the shingles/roof before too much longer.) We were happy to see them gone.
Black walnuts make a mess in the fall. They drop the walnuts and if you don't get them all picked up, the lawnmower might catch one or more of them and throw them like missiles. They can break glass and dent cars. Any you and the lawnmower miss will also sprout the next spring and they're a pain in the tush to pull up.
I haven't been able to get out and pull them up. I tried and it made my sciatic nerve scream at me... Now, they're getting way too big to be pulled up. I have a chain saw but still can't get out and cut them down.
About an hour ago the older couple next-door sent one of their sons over to ask if we wanted him to cut them down for us. We happily told him "Yes, please!" Then Pretty asked him how much he'd charge to cut them down... He looked at her for a minute and said "Ten bucks?"
We don't think he was going to charge us anything to cut them down... 
Pretty just wrote him a check for $20 and told him thanks... They're really good neighbors!
Photo is not mine. Black walnut sapling.
Pretty just wrote him a check for $20 and told him thanks... They're really good neighbors!
Photo is not mine. Black walnut sapling.23 people like this
22 responses
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
@JudyEv We normally don't want to ask for help... If they didn't offer, we'd muddle through on our own. If we notice those neighbors need help, we offer our help... We don't even talk to anyone else living on our street. (We don't even know the older couple's names. But they don't know our names, either.
)
It always seems odd to me that you know your neighbors names and stuff about them... I couldn't tell you anything about any of the other neighbors down our street.
)
It always seems odd to me that you know your neighbors names and stuff about them... I couldn't tell you anything about any of the other neighbors down our street.4 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
True! That's the neighbor that has helped us with different things since we moved in here and we've helped them with stuff, too. I can't ever remember their names, but we do like them.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381760)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Jul
@DaddyEvil It's so nice to have kind neighbours. Even if you don't see a lot of them, you sort of know they'd help in an emergency.
3 people like this
@Shivram59 (50131)
• India
20 Jul
You have very good neighbours. Good and helpful. But I hate cutting trees. Two years ago we had a huge " neem" tree right in front of our house. The government decided to make a bridge crossing the railway tracks so that those who wanted to go to the other part of the town could go there.
The bridge is being constructed and the tree is no more there. It is cut I feel very bad about it.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
That's a shame about them cutting that tree down... These were nuisance trees that shouldn't have sprouted where I didn't want trees... I don't have a problem cutting trees down, especially if they're going to make extra work for me.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
@Shivram59 Oh, I see... Unless the tree belonged to me, I don't worry about what people do with them.
1 person likes this
@Shivram59 (50131)
• India
20 Jul
@DaddyEvil The "neem tree" purified the air. It has many medicinal qualities. We had spent our childhood under its shadow Villagers who walked to their villages would take rest under it in summer. There were nests of birds on its branches. When they came to cut it, I left home, for I didn't want to see it being cut
1 person likes this
@rsa101 (40946)
• Philippines
20 Jul
Oh wow, I totally feel you on the sciatica—I deal with it too, and thankfully it’s not flaring up for me right now. But I know how just one wrong move can make it scream. Good thing your neighbors stepped in when they did! That kind of help really means a lot, especially when your body just won’t cooperate. So glad you didn’t have to push through the pain—and what a thoughtful young man to offer like that!
2 people like this
@rsa101 (40946)
• Philippines
20 Jul
@DaddyEvil Oh my goodness, mine hasn't reached that level. I first felt it when my wife and I were at the grocery store. It arrived unexpectedly, and I expected to collapse in pain, but I was able to manage it until the pain subsided. Then I went through therapy and tried chiropractic, which effectively stopped the attacks. There is no longer any pain; only numbness and tingling occur. Walking for so long would tire out my back and legs at times.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
@rsa101 I went to a chiropractor and that fixed mine, too, for two weeks but then the pain came back much worse than before. Our insurance will only pay for the chiropractor for two visits a year and we don't have the money right now to make another chiropractic visit again.
My regular doctor has prescribed some stronger pain meds for it and I have a different pain med that was prescribed for migraine headaches that I took this morning... The pain is gone for now but I'm a little scared to do much in case it comes crashing back down on me.
I've been doing the exercises my doctor recommended to help strengthen the leg and help the nerve but I either overdid the exercises or did something wrong. I was in pain again after I finished the exercises the first time so am skeptical about their actually working now...
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
I think his parents told him to offer but we were happy to get the help, no matter how he came to offer.
And yes, I can just be washing dishes at the sink and almost fall down from the pain.
I'm glad yours isn't flaring up right now. I hope you don't keep having sciatica pain.
3 people like this
@sjvg1976 (42727)
• Delhi, India
22 Jul
@DaddyEvil I am fine and doing well. No, fallen jamuns are useless , we buy and eat them with salt.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
22 Jul
@sjvg1976 I'm glad you're fine and doing well...
It's a shame you have to buy them if you have a tree throwing them at you.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
How have you been doing? I was wondering about you a couple of days ago... I hope you and your family are all doing okay.
I hope the Jamun don't dent your car when they fall. Do you eat those or make them into jelly or preserves?
We were really happy the young man cut them down for us. I couldn't get out there and do that myself right now.
3 people like this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
20 Jul
My neighbor started cutting my grass one year ago…never asked for money. Of course, I make sure he gets a nice Christmas present $$$.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
The older neighbor has been cutting the grass in our back yard for a year and wouldn't take any money for doing it. His riding mower broke down a couple of months ago and we came into extra money so we gave him $200... We didn't know until a few days later that his wife had gotten cancer between her toes so can't work now... She was the one who earned their money... He does get Social Security but it just pays for his meds and gives him "hobby money".
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
Cecil also sounds like a good name for a walnut tree, in my opinion.
2 people like this
Ed always makes me think of the talking horse. @sallypup (69157)
• Centralia, Washington
20 Jul
@DaddyEvil Cecil is good. Ed reminds me of Eddie Haskell.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
19 Jul
Pretty is on top of it, Can you salvage any of the nuts? You can make stuff with them although they are freqiously hard to crakd.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
19 Jul
I could make stuff with the nut meats but neither one of us really like black walnuts. We always sold them before but I don't have a pickup anymore so we'd have to pay somebody to haul them to the huller here in town.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
19 Jul
@DaddyEvil Opeeing them is the hardest part. There is a battlefield near here that has tons of them, but I am afraid it is against the law to pick them. That and the fact t to open puts me off of them.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
@snowy22315 Does the city pick them up and sell them? It doesn't make sense that it would be against the law to pick up walnuts... I wonder why they made that a law there? Weird!
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
Yes, that's possible. There are a lot of foods you can add black walnuts to that people here LOVE to eat. Pretty and I don't like black walnuts cooked in our foods. Normally, we pick them up and sell them to a huller (someone who runs them through a machine to remove the thick husk from the walnut and they then buy the nuts from you. But I don't have a truck anymore to haul them to the huller.)
1 person likes this
@id_peace (17036)
• Singapore
20 Jul
Can these walnuts be eaten? In my country, no one can engage a tree cutter without a permit from my government. We can only engage the tree cutter based on the list in their site. No trees can be cut without a proper reason and areas in the public, trees had been trimmed to ensure that no heavy branches will fall on people during the storm.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
We still need to drag the trees to the edge of the street so the city can haul them away. I'll see how much of that I can do before the sciatica starts screaming this morning... Pretty can haul whatever I can't to the street.
We put some of the storm downed limbs at the edge of the street last spring and a cop came and told me to move them out of the street or he'd write me a ticket... I dared him to write a ticket and then pointed out that everybody else could park their vehicles along the street and the limbs weren't as wide as the vehicles AND, the neighbor across the street had a HUGE pile of limbs and yard waste piled on the street in front of his house since last fall... He looked at me and said "You'd probably sue me if I wrote a ticket for that anyway." I just grinned at him... He walked away. Stupid cop!
They can't treat one person differently than everyone else... I might not have sued but I would have raised a stink with his commanding officer and the mayor in town if he wrote me a ticket!
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
@wolfgirl569 I walked out the front door and got down the first step toward the yard and the sciatic nerve was already screaming... I came back inside and took a Soma. It knocked me out for three hours. I'm moving easier without the nerve screaming now... Not sure I want to try that again today...
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (135583)
• Marion, Ohio
20 Jul
@DaddyEvil Just take your time moving them.
That cop needed to be reported.
2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23979)
• United Kingdom
20 Jul
How lucky to have great neighbours help out. It was well worth $20. My wife planted a wisteria whech went wild over the past 3 weeks. I groaned when I came back & have cut it back a bit. I would like to prune it right back but she won't allow it. I do do it when she is a sleep sometimes! 
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
Yes, we're very lucky... We would have paid more than the $20 if he'd asked for more... It needed done and I can't do it right now.
You could always say you "slipped" and cut off more than intended.
You could always say you "slipped" and cut off more than intended. 2 people like this
@garymarsh6 (23979)
• United Kingdom
20 Jul
@DaddyEvil Haha good one I never thought of that!
2 people like this
@Traceyjayne (11252)
• United Kingdom
19 Jul
Shame you had to pay but at least he did the job, and you needed it doing. There is a walnut tree in the garden behind ours….apart from the obvious….black….how are they different to regular walnuts….?
2 people like this
@Traceyjayne (11252)
• United Kingdom
20 Jul
@DaddyEvil thanks for the info …that’s what I love about this site ….you share info from each others countries, whether it be food, customs, or just every day life.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
@Traceyjayne You're very welcome.
I like that about myLot, too. Sometimes I laugh at the responses I get but I love talking with people all over the world. 
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (18198)
• Raurkela, India
20 Jul
They are very helpful that you have. I have very mean neighbours who are always up to some kind of mischief.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
21 Jul
@aninditasen You can always wish for things to happen but that doesn't mean they'll happen... You COULD start being a bad neighbor yourself and see if that encourages them to move... 
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (18198)
• Raurkela, India
21 Jul
@DaddyEvil I wish my neighbours changed their ways as I can't wish them to move out from their own house.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (18198)
• Raurkela, India
22 Jul
@DaddyEvil What should I do? Rob? Like they robbed my jewelry when we were not at home.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
20 Jul
At our last house my husband planted a bunch of black walnut trees. He had planned on selling the wood. That was nice of your neighbor.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
People buy black walnut trees here, too, but they want trees several years old and these just sprouted this spring.
Yes, it was very nice of him. Pretty and I will go out later and drag the trees to the street for the city cleaners to take them away.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
21 Jul
@LindaOHio I'm sure someone alerted them to that possibility by now.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
21 Jul
@DaddyEvil When we moved, the black walnut trees were quite a few years old. The new owners probably weren't even aware that they could sell the wood.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
20 Jul
I need a neighbor like that. Bob wants to keep the black walnut trees, I do not. I have not learned to run a chain saw. We have more than one. It is a constant batttle with mother nature.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
Chainsaws are easy... Make sure you have oil in the oil chamber for the chain, watch a YT video about sharpening the chain, make sure you don't get the blade near anything you don't want to cut, like your own hands or legs and make sure you keep it on the ground while starting it. There are a lot of good how-to videos that explain HOW to cut trees down so you don't drop them on your house or car.
1 person likes this
@crossbones27 (52907)
• Mojave, California
19 Jul
Probably just the gas money, do not see that much anymore. You are lucky to have such a good neighbor. He could have ulterior motives, like do not want that sucker falling in my yard. Win win for everyone, shut up and take it. 
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
His parents have a huge walnut tree in their yard. We normally pick theirs up when we clean them out of our yard. Last year we dumped the walnuts in the culvert at the end of our yards so the squirrels could still get them. I just can't bend over to pick them up without risking falling anymore and Pretty doesn't like working in the yard. 
2 people like this
@Letranknight2015 (52665)
• Philippines
25 Jul
We originally had 3 Trees, 2 Nara on the front and mango Tree at the back. We had some one to have the mango tree cut down almost 50$ and it was a big tree.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
25 Jul
Wow! I'm glad you could get someone to cut it down for you... It's expensive to get trees cut down. We just got lucky the guy was willing to help us.
@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
19 Jul
Glad you got someone to cut the trees,
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
19 Jul
Wow that was nice that you got those walnut trees cut down. Even though you didn't expect to pay anything $20 sounds like a bargain to me. I didn't know that walnut trees could cause so much trouble.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
As long as you have kids or someone else willing and able to pick them up, it's not a big deal but I just can't do that anymore and Pretty HATES working in the yard... She'll only do yard work if I gripe and gripe until she gets tired of listening to me and goes out and does whatever needs doing... I don't like to gripe at her so keep trying to do things myself and end up getting hurt.
1 person likes this
@sw8sincere (6032)
• Philippines
20 Jul
Sounds like you're lucky to have the kind of neighbors who look out for one another. That kind of connection is rare and something to be truly grateful for.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (174208)
• United States
20 Jul
We help them out when they need it and they help us when we need it. We don't really even talk to any of the other people on our street.
1 person likes this
