Another neighbor, Vic, was able to toss the rope over the tricky branch, and pull it away from the utility line as I cut. That branch, too, landed safely. The next day, as the rain turned to snow and ice and added weight to the remaining branches, I recognized the need for some fine-tuning on the evergreen branches. I should have cut down that tree years ago and planted a couple of native maples in its place. While it's nice having bits of green in a winter sea of brown, the evergreen blocks winter sunlight from our living room and the porch roof.
Deciduous trees shade in the summer and let in sunlight in the winter.
And the bare branches don't usually sag under the weight of wet snow. Around the deck, however, the hemlocks I planted as infants have grown to maturity, and act to break the northwest wind as it lashes at the back of the house. They also help shade the kitchen from the searing heat of a summer's afternoon, making food preparation without central air bearable. But their branches also need to be kept in check. That's what I discovered that stormy night as I held the hemlock branch threatening the new phone line in one hand and my saw in the other.