Yard Work

Our yards have been deteriorating for years while Jim focuses on the interior of the house. We have gigantic birds of paradise that are too big for their locations, have lots of dead branches, and are generally eyesores. Jim decided to chop them down, starting with the one in the back. It was a dangerous proposition. He whacked and cut while standing on these weak, far-apart boards:

He got up and down via Dolly's play structure:

He ended up going next door to finish chopping down the tallest portion from our neighbors' yard. (The tree was totally leaning over to their side, so it would've landed on our already falling-down fence if he cut from our side.) He was standing on our ladder cutting, and the tree fell on top of him. Jim was knocked off the ladder, which broke in half. The ladder toppled one of the neighbors' potted plants and pulled a divot out of their new sod. The neighbor husband was nice about it, and Jim escaped unscathed. There's lots more to be done. We'll cross our fingers Jim doesn't die in the process.