Dead Trees

Last year was hard on trees here.  Very dry.  And I only say that about MY local conditions.  It has been horribly drier in other places.  But I'm here and not there.  So I have my only experience "here".

Many years ago, I planted Golden Rain trees on either side of the driveway near the street.  I like "specimen" trees, small and interesting.  Golden Rain produces ping-pong-ball-sized seed packets in July that turn deep yellow as they mature.  The seeds never seem to grow, so I assume they are sterile hybrids.  And that is good; I don't want invasive plants.  But they ARE interesting in the middle of Summer (I have some other trees and shrubs for Spring and Fall color).

But, as I said, last year was harsh.  One is completely dead (it sent up one shoot from the trunk, but it didn't last long). 

 The other is half dead.  IT looks fine from the house, but dead from the street.  I'm not an arborist, but I have "enough" understanding of pruning small trees to remove the deadwood properly (undercut, then downward cut, then allow 1/2" "branch collar cut" for healing.

The surviving tree will look unbalanced for a few years, but the tree will send out new branches and I know how to direct them slightly if necessary.  

I also lost a beech tree.  I was slightly fooled at first, because there were vines growing on it and the vine leaves made it look like the tree was recovering.  When I pruned the vines at ground level, and THEY died, the sad truth was obvious.  

The tree was here when I moved in 35 years ago.  If you look closely, you will see that the top was literally "trunkated" but new branches arose to create a new canopy.  The tree can't very well have died of last year's drought; it is just a few feet from a drainage easement and there is "some" water flowing from the neighborhood above year-round.  That itself is actually amazing.  No matter how dry it gets, water flows...  I have no idea how old the beech tree was.  Maybe it just lived its full life.  But it sure had access to water!

Ground conditions can be strange.  When I first moved here, the lawn would get so dry that the soil would crack open.  I used to water the lawn, not realizing that it was natural for the grasses in my area to go dormant and grown in the hot days of July and August.  I've stopped doing that (waste of water and fertilizer to force the lawn to grow).

Instead, I started leaving the grass-clippings on the lawn and laid down corn gluten just twice a year (both a natural fertilizer and a weed suppressant).  I also bought a soil aerator I could drag behind the riding mower.  It brought up plugs of soil to the surface, allowed air and decaying grass in, and over the years, the soil greatly improved.  It hasn't cracked in a decade.  And the tall fescue grass stays green most Summers.  

A lawn-care company rep came by a few weeks ago.  I don't ever engage the services of "door-knockers", but I had time and was curious.  So we sat on the front step while he pointed out that I had a few weeds and a lot of clover in my lawn and his company could fix that.  I mentioned that I was an organic yardkeeper.  He said "we can improve your lawn".

My immediate thought was "welcome to my web, said the spider to the fly"...

So I asked him why my clover was so bad.  He said "it's not grass".  I pointed out that clover has deep roots and brings nutrients back up to the grassroot level, that it was pleasantly green, that it didn't need fertilizing, and that bees like clover blossoms.  

He got an annoyed look and decided he should move on to talk to other neighbors.  I LOVE doing stuff like that...

 

Buying A New Car

Car salesmen are amusing.  I used to find them scary, (purchased my first new car at sticker price as if I was at Walmart wanting to buy a shirt) but after the first couple cars, I discovered Consumer Reports detailed dealer cost "by option package".  For $11, I got the actual dealer cost ad it saved me about $1,000 to $2,000 each time for 3 cars.  Sadly, CR ended that service several years ago and now they just send you to Truecar, which merely gets you nearly instant offers from most local dealers (which turns out to be useful).  But I learned enough about discussing costs with dealers to still do pretty well.

This time, I demanded each dealer provide an emailed breakdown of the cost basis.  That's the various categories of costs for dealer prep, each option, delivery charge, etc.  Here's the cool part...  Each have different categories they try to get their profit.  For exaple, one dealer wanted $1,100 for a towing package, but another offerred that for $700 but wanted more for dealer prep.  I took the lowest in each category added it all up, dropped the total a few $100, and offerred that back to each.

I didn't expect to get my price.  Never try to negotiate down from their price.  Make them negotiate up from your own informed one.  Some salesman somewhere is having a bad month and feeling desperate.  If you are lucky, you find 2 of them.  And always do it by email.  You have it in writing!

So "Bill" at dealership X sends you a breakdown of costs at $28,000.  So does "Fred" at dealership Y at $29,000.  Let's say it is the towing package that differs most.  So you email Fred that you have a $28,000 offer and it is the towing package at $1,100.  Can he do something about that because another dealership is offerring $800?  AND the local trailer company will do it for $485.  And you email Bill and ask about the dealer prep fee because another dealer is $400 less than his charges.

It is important that you not lie, BTW, they KNOW what everyone else charges... You are just trying to get the best combination of the lowest prices by category.  The salesmen are looking to get $1,000 profit clear, plus incentive bonuses from their dealership and the manufacturer you are trying to get them down a couple hundred.  The whole advertised car-pricing s a massive kickback and bonus game.

I was pretty much settled on final negotiations with one dealer, then discovered a another dealer's bid was based on a higher trim model.  So we discussed that by phone today.  The salesman apologized and is redoing their price for the base model.*

So right now, I have one salesman trying beat another's offer.  I will have more information Monday about that.  Actually, they will come out nearly the same, and quite frankly the difference won't matter much to me.  It's more about the fun of playing with THEM for a change and who can get me the car first.

* I could easily afford a high trim package.  I just don't want it.  Features have changed.  It used to be that if you wanted and adjustable seat and steering wheel, those were "options".  Now all that stuff is standard.  Now, options or the improvements to the base model are fancier infotainment systems, fancier navigation systems, 16 speakers, cameras, etc.  I have a cordless phone and a desktop computer.  In the car, I listen to the all-news or the classical radio station.  I don't even WANT that distracting fancier stuff.  

And another note.  I am negotiating for a new 2020 Subaru Forrester. #2 in Consumers Report small SUV rating.  I would have preferred the Mazda CX-5 (#1 and having some parts of the ratings I valued).  But I discovered the local dealership closed and the nearest one is 25 miles away.  I fear Mazda is on its way out...

So, right now, I have a written offer for a Base model Subaru Forrester, all wheel drive, a calm green, no options but towing package.  The best current offer is about $26,800 (depends on towing package) from an out-of-state dealer.  The salesman I spoke to today at the dealership practically across the street from me is trying to match it (and you know he COULD).  

Now here is the part about why car salesmen are funny.  I have the money they desperately want.  Yet they pretend they are in charge of the price.  And they try to upsell so desperately.  You tell them you want the base model and even explain why, and they come back with a higher trim line price.  Maybe you'll go for it!  You remind them that you wanted the base model.  They extoll the virtues of the moonroof on the higher trim line.  You tell them monroofs always leak.  They say they give a 3 year warranty on the moonroof.  You tell them you are more concerned about years 10-15.  

So they drop the price of the higher trim line.  You decline, saying you positively DO NOT want the additional features.  This baffles them.  They expect every one want EVERYTHING they can possibly afford.  

If you are in a showroom (never buy a car face-to-face in a showroom), you suggest a price and they nearly cry, but have to go discuss it with it the Manager, leaving you to sit there for 30 minutes while they laugh and tell jokes and come back and say "maybe possibly if you agree to the wire spoke stainless steel alloy wheels".  

It's all a scam.  It SEEMS to me that these guys started by playing craps in back alleys, graduated to sidewalk 3 card monte, went to selling used cars and finally proved they were talented enough to sell new cars to suckers (Iike me on my first car purchase). 

So we will see what happens next week.