Vicki Viall
Dancing in the Treetops

We are surrounded on all sides by one of God's MANY gifts to us - nature! But, do we really see it?
Do we truly appreciate that gift?
Oh, when nature rears her ugly head in hurricane season, we are fully aware of it, right?

But how about the rest of the year?
Maybe not so much.
So, if you have never had the privilege of watching a Tree Top Climber Dancing in the Treetops, you have no idea what you have missed out on.
Last year and this year, we had one such Tree Top Climber working on trimming a dead oak that was all that was keeping a damaged, live oak up.

Watching was almost like watching a live performance in a theater. It was magical, even.
At the moment that each limb gave way, the resulting crash to earth was like the timpani marking the punctuation of a symphony.
It's like watching a highly trained athlete, a gymnast perhaps, navigating up the tree, going hand over hand from limb to limb. And, doing so with a chain saw tied to the waist and swinging freely (almost) around the feet.
Throw in a helper coordinating from the ground and removing branches and limbs, large and small, out of the way... Wow!

Let's not forget the sound and feel resulting from one of those incredibly massive branches colliding at full speed with the ground. The vibrations from that meeting travel through the bottom of one's feet to the top of the head.
That is also the perfect moment to thank Abba that Tree Top Climber knows what he is doing.
I know nothing about trimming trees, but twice now, I was truly caught up in the event and took photos to remind me of what an incredible experience it is.
After having lived all over this great country, I can truly say that each and every state has some kind of emergency event caused by weather.
I have seen huge ole evergreens, oaks, pines, and more picked up and tossed around like they were toothpicks. I have seen them snapped in two like they were green beans.

Nature is awesomely powerful and dangerous at times,
So having Tree Top Climbers is a necessity, but one rarely given acknowledge or gratitude.
Since we are still in hurricane season, please keep those who are brave enough to Dance in the Treetops in your thoughts and prayers as they do what they do to keep us safe, to clean up such debris, and provide entertainment as well.
To this particular Tree Top Climber, thank you for allowing us to watch you dance!
