Help a neighbor? Or offend him?

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Do I cut up the tree for the guy?

  • No

    Votes: 2 4.8%

  • Ask him

    Votes: 39 92.9%

  • Do it while he is gone

    Votes: 1 2.4%

  • Just cut the real big stuff

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    42
SamT1

SamT1

ArboristSite Guru
Joined
Nov 18, 2018
Messages
735
Reaction score
859
Location
Texas
I have drove by a mans place that was a distant neighbor when I was a kid. He had a 80” very old mulberry tree blowbdown in his yard. He has been nipping at it with a wild thing for a month now. Man is 70-75 years old probably. I drive by there almost daily while working. I have a big saw in the truck and could cut it up in 15-20 minutes. Would you pull over and cut it up while he is at work? I can see what size he’s cutting and just finish it off for him.
I asked him about it one day in town and I think he thought I would charge him to cut it up.
I’m not sure if he is working at it for exercise, pride or money. I’d like to help him out, but I’m not sure I should. Maybe I should just cut the big stuff up for him? I can do it without anyone knowing/seeing me if that matters.
 
I do some truck pulling. A while ago older guy looked to be 70-80 pulling his g John Deere throwing weights all day. Some one who was paying more attention went over and asked if he wanted help, and he said no. I voted for ask him.
 
I wouldnt cut without his permission. Stop and talk with him, and bring out the saw to "show" him.

I have a similar situation where the neighbor up the road cut down a 24" maple. Hes been limbing it with his craftsman saw for the last 2-3 weeks and hes in his 70's. He let me borrow a heavy wagon to move my firewood. I offered to cut of the tree for letting me use the wagon he said no. It looks like hes down to the trunk now and snow season has started. I told him if he wasnt done with it by the time I bring the wagon back I was cutting it up for him. So, that day is coming soon but we'll see if he let's me. Ultimately it's his and I'll respect his decision, land and property because that's being a good neighbor.
 
It's a tough call. I was brought up to help people my folks had a gas station truck stop and when it snowed or we had a summer storm and trees were down we just pushed the snow and cleaned up the trees and no one was asked or any money changed hands. One of the farms I own is next to a farm a man from down south owns. Its pasture and he comes up during the summer and sprays , cleans up blow down trees and it looks like a park. Over the years I have done some dozer work for him dug some fence post when he needed it. The guys that rented it are big operators and some distance family of his so I never tried to rent it. Two years ago we had a major wind storm come threw that area and took a lot of trees down and the fence also. I called the renters as a fair amount of fence was down and I have crops next to it. They sent one guy that did a half ass job of getting the fence back up. Summer left and fall came and the guy from down south never was in the area. We got harvest done so it was time to work on the fence to make a more permanent fix as the crops and cows were out of the picture. I have a skid loader with a hyd tree saw and a grapple fork. I called the renters to see if they would help with the fence as some belonged to me and some to there land lord. Didn't want to bother the land lord as he is a old guy 800 miles away. They were too busy. In the end I spent a week and not only cleaned up the fence line and rebuilt the fence. I used the skid loader and grapple and cleaned the 160 acres up so it looked like the park it did before the storm came threw. Next spring came old guy was up from down south showed up at my home place one morning with his check book and said I am going to pay you for all that work. I said no that is what neighbors are for. He told me his heart was failing and that was why he had been around to do the clean up. A week later I got a check in the mail for $1,000 dollars from him and I sent it back. Just this past Sept I was at my home place getting the combine ready one morning and he drove in. I know this post is getting long but here comes the end. He says I am 80 now and my heart is failing more I want to sell you the farm. We made a deal then and the money and paper work just changed hands Wed his to be X renters didn't even get a chance to buy it. I guess being a good neighbor over the years worked out for me. Got a meeting with the X renters later today they won't be happy they will be losing the pasture. I voted for you to cut the tree up.
 
SamT1 said:
I have drove by a mans place that was a distant neighbor when I was a kid. He had a 80” very old mulberry tree blowbdown in his yard. He has been nipping at it with a wild thing for a month now. Man is 70-75 years old probably. I drive by there almost daily while working. I have a big saw in the truck and could cut it up in 15-20 minutes. Would you pull over and cut it up while he is at work? I can see what size he’s cutting and just finish it off for him.
I asked him about it one day in town and I think he thought I would charge him to cut it up.
I’m not sure if he is working at it for exercise, pride or money. I’d like to help him out, but I’m not sure I should. Maybe I should just cut the big stuff up for him? I can do it without anyone knowing/seeing me if that matters.
Click to expand...

Both your suggestions involve cutting while nobody is there & without him knowing. Wondering why that is?

I would just stop while he's there and ask him if he wants some help. Pretty basic. If he says yes, have at it. If he says no, wish him well.
 
If he was a decent guy I would stop in, tell him I just fixed up my saw and ask if I could "break in" my saw on his log as I didn't have any big stuff. I wouldn't cut it without his permission, what if the guy was planning on someone slabbing it up for something? Sometimes being neighbourly ends up being a pain in the azz.
 
I don't think I'm your neighbor, but people offer to help me cut wood. I politely turn them away. They may never have an accident, but if they do, kiss the whole farm good bye. All the guy's insurance company would have to hear is that he got hurt working for me, guess who would pay? Likely not them.
 
I've always been one to help others without any thought of payment.....UNTIL recently when I tried to help this lady get her bumper off the road after she hit a deer.
She said " keep your damn hands off my property " .
Later found out she was severe bi-polar.

But yes I'd likely help the ole man out as long as he wasn't bi-polar.
 
cantoo said:
If he was a decent guy I would stop in, tell him I just fixed up my saw and ask if I could "break in" my saw on his log as I didn't have any big stuff. I wouldn't cut it without his permission, what if the guy was planning on someone slabbing it up for something? Sometimes being neighbourly ends up being a pain in the azz.
Click to expand...

You beat me to it! Exactly this.
 
NSMaple1 said:
Both your suggestions involve cutting while nobody is there & without him knowing. Wondering why that is?

I would just stop while he's there and ask him if he wants some help. Pretty basic. If he says yes, have at it. If he says no, wish him well.
Click to expand...
As said above if the answer is No leave your details with the proviso if he finds he needs help to get in touch Some of us old Bu***rs have been doing it ourselves for so long (think I qualify 83 this year)we don't know how to accept help + in this day & age with a not do any thing for nothing & greater #of guys on the make suspect underhandedness
 
NSMaple1 said:
Both your suggestions involve cutting while nobody is there & without him knowing. Wondering why that is?

I would just stop while he's there and ask him if he wants some help. Pretty basic. If he says yes, have at it. If he says no, wish him well.
Click to expand...
If he’s like me he would feel like he owes me. I’d like to just do him a favor and him not have to feel like he owes me something every time we see each other. Kinda like the folks at Starbucks that buy the car behind thems drinks, just on a larger scale.
 

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