2011.12.22 Let there be light, please!

Our backyard gets nearly no sunshine in the coldest days of winter.  Why?  Because our neighbor's yard has lined our common fence with 20+ foot trees and the sunlight can't penetrate these trees.  To make matters worse, two of our trees had overgrown into their yard and in some places taller than even their trees.  In an effort to let in some sunlight, I started cutting down the tops of our trees that had grown into their yard.  After 3.5 hrs of nonstop cutting and probably 500+ lbs of severed tree branches, I managed to cut most of the top of one tree and a little of the 2nd.  The difference in the view is dramatic but we wont know if sunlight will actually shine through until tomorrow.  It'll probably take 2 - 3 weeks to dispose of today's cuttings.  What remains to be cut are the thick trunks which I probably can't really do with a manual saw, so I've ordered a chainsaw for that.