OK, so there was a 40' elm tree in my backyard... quite dead, I can assure you.
No leaves on any branches for 2 years.
So I had it removed.
Opened my mail today to find a ticket for $250 from the H.A. for not asking permission before I cut it down.
And, although there are a few extenuating circumstances that would probably cause the DA to not prosecute if this were Law and Order - my H.A. seems to be particularly stupid with respect to common sense if they can squeeze someone for $$$.
So - I ask you. Is a dead tree still a tree, or is it merely a big stick of decaying wood upended in the dirt?
At what point does a tree cease to become a tree, and become firewood?