My neighbor thought tree pruning was a squirrel crime

I was cutting back some branches on a maple yesterday and the lady next door came over furious. She said I was committing a crime against nature by disturbing the birds, even though it was just deadwood. Ever had a client blame you for weird stuff like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

pauljackson1mo ago

Yeah, people get weirdly attached to trees they don't even own... had one guy accuse me of murder because I removed a sick willow.

spencerross1mo ago

That sick willow you took down, was it in a park or someone's yard? What did the guy do when he called it murder? Did he yell at you or call the cops? I've heard of people getting upset, but murder is a big jump.

karen_hill31mo ago

Argue that murder is too strong a word for removing a sick tree. It's about health and safety, not killing. What would you do if someone accused you like that?

sarahscott19d ago

It's that word "murder" that gets me. People use it for everything now, not just actual killing. I see it online all the time, like calling a policy change "murder" or a bad business decision "murder." It makes real problems seem smaller and turns every disagreement into a huge drama. When you use the worst word possible for cutting down a sick tree, you're just yelling, not talking. It shuts down any real talk about safety or what actually needs to be done.