Pasco Tree and Crane Service - A Thumbs Down Review

They Fooled Me Once. Don't Let Them Fool You

Having just moved into a house, we've had to seek the service of various local companies - a plumber, a sprinkler service, a lawn and landscaping service, a concrete contractor, and, unfortunately, a tree service, the latter to remove some large trees from the property.

Let's get this straight, they can remove trees. Of course, during that part of the operation the boss/owner was there. Though he didn't identify himself as such, he was operating the crane. Unfortunately, when his work was done he left, leaving the stump grinding to his son and his crew. They don't have the same sense of honor nor the impulse to do good work as the owner. Not realizing this, I was operating under the premise that they wanted to do a good job for me. That's why when their foreman Sean approached me and suggested that instead of hauling away the chips from the biggest tree, a camphor tree, it might be a good idea for him to spread them around so the lawn, once sod was placed on top of the chips, would slope away from the house. It sounded like a good idea to me, so I said okay. That was a mistake. One, I didn't realize the mass of chips that stump and its roots would produce; and two, I didn't realize, as my landscaper later told me, that sod would not grow on top of the camphor chips and that it would take 5 or 6 years for the chips to compost.

My landscaper figured that PTCS had just been trying to save the cost of disposing of the chips. I think they were just lazy. BTW, did I mention that they covered a few of my sprinkler heads?

Anyway, I called the company and explained that my landscaper had told me the chips would have to be hauled away before sod was laid down and wondered if they would come back and pick up the chips. I was told they would get back to me, but they didn't. They weren't inclined to come back. Why should they? They had been paid their $2,000+.

I wanted to make sure I was operating under the proper premise regarding wood chips and sod so I googled for answers. It's pretty clear that it is not a good idea to place sod over wood chips. Check out this video:



And this article: How to Plant Sod Grass Over Tree Stump Grindings which suggests you "Remove any large wood chunks or sticks from the area. Remove as much of the wood chips and sawdust as possible and work the remainder into the soil."

So, I asked my landscaper to remove the chips. He and his two helpers did so for $275. In the process of removing the chips they uncovered parts of the tree, roots and stumps, that hadn't been ground down below ground level. He suggested I call PTCS and tell them to come back and finish the job. I called and was told by the girl who answered the phone that she would get back to me after she conferred with the men. She didn't get back to me. Before I called again, I emailed them some pictures.

That produced the desired effect. The boss came out to examine the unfinished job and told me they would be out the next day to finish the job the way it should have been finished the first time. They did. I was so pleased with the outcome that I was tempted to give this review a slight boost but, in his haste to leave the property, the foreman ran over a lawn sprinkler that he had been told he had to avoid. As a consequence, I continue to rate them "Avoid". If you do decide to use them, do so with caution.

Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta Novels in Order

What invariably happens when someone reads one of Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta novels is that they suddenly develop a strong desire to read them all. For those of you who find yourselves in this predicament, I have listed below all of Ms. Cornwell's novels to date along with a link to a convenient checklist so you can mark your progress as you fly through the list. Good reading!

The Kay Scarpetta Novels In Order

1. Postmortem (1990)

2. Body of Evidence (1991)

3. All That Remains (1992)

4. Cruel and Unusual (1993)

5. The Body Farm (1994)

6. From Potter's Field (1995)

7. Cause of Death (1996)

8. Unnatural Exposure (1997)

9. Point of Origin (1998)

10. Black Notice (1999)

11. The Last Precinct (2000)

12. Blow Fly (2003)

13. Trace (2004)

14. Predator (2005)

15. Book of the Dead (2007)

16. Scarpetta (2008)

17. The Scarpetta Factor (2009)

18. Port Mortuary (2010)

19. Red Mist (2011)

20. The Bone Bed (2012)

21. Dust (2013)

22. Flesh and Blood (2014)

Scarpetta fans, for your convenience, a link to the Printable Scarpetta Series Checklist.

Review: The Valley View Dental Consortium of Hudson, FL

My lowest rating: Avoid 

Are we supposed to address dentists as "Doctor" this or "Doctor" that. Probably not - they're just dentists. Anyway, my nightmare began when my previous dentist, an ex-marine who always treated me square, went out of business one day without notifying his patients and abruptly closed up his office. I was due for a cleaning so I called Valley View Dental. Oy vey!

To be honest, I've neglected my teeth most of my life and only for the last several years have I been taking care of them like I should have all along - brushing three times a day, flossing, rinsing with tartar control mouthwash. At 70, I can finally say "I'm on top of it."

No, these are not my teeth.

So, what I'm looking for from my dental consortium, unless I have an emergency of some kind, is a cleaning every 6 months, and a free toothbrush. Thank you very much. Cleaning my teeth isn't all that much work since my upkeep prevents much in the way of tartar buildup between visits. Candy, the girl at my previous dentist's office and Miranda at Valley View agreed on this. Unfortunately, dentist Wilson Maddoff of Valley View Dental wasn't happy with this arrangement. He decided it was necessary to improve my dental health - big time.

First, he decided the cleanings I was getting from Miranda were not sufficient. What I needed now was a deep cleaning. Cost? A slight difference, he said, but it would be well worth it. Later, his assistant informed me that the deep cleaning was going to cost me $1500. I went along with it.

Next, after that was all done he decided I needed some whitening. Really? You'll be amazed at the difference it makes, he said. Now, I've always been a realist when it came to my teeth. I do not have a Hollywood smile and my teeth, except for one souvenir of a long ago root canal which is brown, are hardly what you would call white. So, I went for it. $800. That's $2300 of dental improvement. I should have been feeling good but I didn't because, to tell you the truth, when I checked myself out in the mirror, my teeth looked exactly the same as they had when I was under the care of the ex-marine. Maybe, I thought, the benefits weren't readily visible. Yeah, that was probably it.

During my next visit, Miranda cleaned my teeth, told me how good everything looked, then took x-rays and called in Maddoff to check out my mouth. Things didn't look so good to him. Bone loss. Well, I'd been told about this before but my former dentist had been satisfied that it didn't seem to be getting any worse. Not so with Maddoff. I needed laser surgery, right away. $500. I left his office without enough for cab fare. Thank god I didn't need a cab.

By the next time I was due for a checkup, I was a little wary. Wilson Maddoff was into me for $2800 and my teeth didn't look any better. So, when Miranda finished with the x-rays and said she was going to fetch the dentist to have a look, I said, "Please, don't. Everytime he looks into my mouth it costs me money. I don't feel like another unneccessary treatment, today." Faithful to her employer, she reported what I had said and two days later I received a note in the mail advising me to find a new dentist. I don't believe my teeth were his primary concern - my money was.

I imagine if I told Wilson Maddoff that I only had 6 weeks to live, he'd try to talk me into some last minute dental treatments to make my dwindling time more enjoyable. No thanks.

There's a guy up in Spring Hill who offers free x-rays on the first visit for new patients. Next time, I think I'll try him.

After Losing Two Hundred Pounds, He Turns to Writing

"I figured that if I could lose 203 pounds, I could do anything. Back when I was heavy, I used to spend a lot of time plopped on my backside watching TV and reading. I often thought to myself that I could write a nice story but I just didn't have the energy. Not so with the new me. I decided to try my hand at writing and with the help of a friend, Joanne Augello, who kept me on course, I recently finished my first story, a novella entitled Flight from the Wild Side. The process was so much fun, I'm already working on another story."

So declared weight loss inspiration turned writer M. J. Toscano when I spoke to him at Joe Muggs in Port Richey, FL. "I love it here," he said. "I can read, drink coffee and chat with my friends in the friendliest of environments - a bookstore."

We, of course, wish him much success with his writing career. We read Flight from the Wild Side and think it's a great beginning. "Are you afraid that success might lead to increased eating and a weight gain?" we asked. "No, I'm not afraid at all," he responded, adding, "Please pass me another donut."

My Art Collection - Desert by S. Mahaney, 1958

This 16 X 20 painting has been in my collection for several years. The photo, unfortunately, does not do it justice. I'm guessing, based on the subject, that S. Mahaney may have been painting in the southwest. Of course, he or she might have been working from a photograph, but the details in the cacti suggest to me first hand knowledge. If you have any information on the artist, I'd appreciate your comment.

The Best Children's Picture Books

The nice people at NPR have put together a list of the best children's picture books of 2013. I thought I'd share it with you. Note: The books are listed in no particular order.



1. This Is the Rope: A Story From the Great Migration by Jacqueline Woodson


2. Brush of the Gods by Lenore Look


3. The Tortoise & the Hare by Jerry Pinkney


4. Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson


5. Journey by Aaron Becker


6. Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner


7. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown


8.  The Dark by Lemony Snicket

They’re Back, They’re Back – The Snowbirds Are Back

Roger and I, the management of the Hudson Highlands Mobile Home Park (A 55+ Community), would like to take this opportunity to welcome back all our friends from Canada, Michigan, New York State, Maine, Vermont, etc. It's great to have you all back, but we sincerely hope you didn't bring any of that cold weather with you, brrrr. LOL :)

We are looking forward to the coming winter and Roger thought, to get things off to a good start, we should go over some of our rules pertaining to pets.

First of all, dog owners, remember that when out doors your pet must be on a leash. There are no exceptions. If you are one of the 90% of residents who think that you and your darling pet are exceptions, then the rule applies especially to you because you are apparently so dumb you actually thing that that mutt of yours is somehow special.

Secondly, under no circumstances are you to allow your pet to do its business (pee or poo; whiz or crap; number one or number two; piss or shit) on another resident's lot. These people may not share your perverted obsession for dumb animals and therefore do not deserve to be gifted with your animal's waste products. Besides, your lot would make a perfectly good toilet. When you're away up north, Roger uses it all the time.

Rule number 3: Wherever or whenever your puppy drops his or her little nuggets, you are expected to pick the frigging things up. And this goes for you, too, nameless asshole who ties his dog to his tricycle and then rides around the park without stopping to give his animal the opportunity to assume a proper hunch-backed squat thereby forcing his beloved pet to drop turds here and there along his route where everybody else has to deal with them. Leaving them in the road is extremely inconsiderate to your fellow residents. STOP IT!

Rule number 4: KEEP YOUR FUCKING DOGS QUIET!

Pardon my French.

Rule number 5: This is a new rule made necessary by the fact that some of you dog owners are either too full of yourselves or, as I believe, don't have the sense you were born with. If you walk your dog down the street, you must yield to all traffic, whether it be gas powered, electric or propelled by pedals. Don't make it necessary for these vehicles to go around you thereby putting their drivers in jeopardy by placing them on the wrong side of the street where they could be subject to head-on collisions with those of your brethren who go whipping through stop signs and around corners because, once again, they don't think those signs apply to them.

Rule 6: If the little bastards chase cars or bicycles, don't dare complain when they get run over. You've been warned.

So, once again, welcome back and enjoy your stay.