Why I am not a tree trimmer

I have a fear of heights, for one thing. It’s been with me from childhood. No bucket trucks for me. At the top of a tall staircase I hesitate, just for a second. I like banisters. At the top of an escalator I hesitate before choosing my step. The DC Metro escalators — yikes. But I managed. And I’ve climbed as high as the fifth rung of an eight-foot ladder to remove the filter panel from one of our Fujitsu ductless mini-splits. We have two, and they do a great job of cooling our house — and heating it, until the temperature begins to really drop, and then it’s simpler to put the furnace on. And get this: when the first system that our plumbing and heating and cooling guy installed didn’t work properly, because the mini-splits were just over the maximum distance at which they could function in tandem, a distance nowhere made clear in the manufacturer’s specs, our guy replaced the system at his own expense. But we gave him a very large gift certificate for our local barbecue restaurant, where we’d seen him and his family many a time.

Also, a lack of the necessary equipment (bucket trucks, &c.), and a lack of the inclination and ability that I would need for it to make sense to invest in that equipment. And did I mention that I have a fear of heights?