Steaks are sizzling on the grill; the children are playing tag in the yard and your Mother-in-law gets up from the table walks over to the grill and falls. Everyone runs to her aid (if she is like Mother-in-laws that I know this will be a very dramatic event.) She is laying there oohing and awing, you get her upright and seated. To your relief, the only injury is to her pride. Now you focus back to the sizzling or should I say burning steaks. You walk over to serve the charcoal steaks only to find out that everyone at the BBQ is blaming you for her fall. Huh? What? I was at the grill…

If only you had been proactive this whole experience could have been avoided….

When you finish reading this I want you to walk outside and look at your trees through an Arborist’s eyes.

• Look up! Are there dead, broken or hanging branches?
  If so, they are at risk of falling and hitting your poor mother-in-law, child playing in the yard, or the precious family pet, Fido.



• Look down! Do you have tripping hazards?
  Rotting stumps, roots that stick out of the ground or branches that have previously fallen.

• Think back to the last time the lawn was mowed…
  Did it seem more like you were in a fight? Bobbing, weaving, and ducking? Trim the branches of the unruly trees, raise the canopy for clearance or grind down that root that bends your blade at least once a mowing season.

• Walk closer to your trees…
  Are there mushrooms growing on it or around the base? This is typically a sign Armillaria or root rot. Does it resemble the leaning tower of Pisa? If you answered yes, your trees need some attention before they become more of a risk.