The DTV Transition

It happened.  Analog has been turned off.  And, I can’t help but feel a little sad.

I grew up on television.  My first memories of television are in the early 80s on a 13″ black and white TV.  We watched cartoons on Saturday mornings in the tiny front room that served as our living room.  I remember looking into that screen thinking, “If I look just hard enough, I can see color.”

When my mom remarried, we took in, along with new siblings and a new dad, but also a new TV  It was one of those TVs that sit like furniture on the ground.  Thinking about it, those are the only TVs that look in place in the corner of a room.  It served as a shelf for knick-knacks, pictures, and trophies.  We had a cable box, maybe one of the early converter boxes.  There was no remote.  We had to get up to change the stations.  The dial on the cable box was quite rigid with notches.  No digital there.

How to get Free Mulch in the Portland Metro Area

Yesterday, I received an email from “Ben”.  Unfortunately, my reply bounced back.  Regardless, I said that when asked a question, I would post it here.  Ben was interested in more concrete places to get free mulch, and this is what I’ve set to tell him:

We got our free mulch from Asplundh, who I believe were contracted by P.G.E.  They trimmed our neighborhood’s trees when I wrote that post a few months ago.  They simply had a sign that read, “Free Wood Chips.”

I believe tree trimmers and arborists have to pay a fee to dump mulch, so they’d much rather give it away.  I’ve heard that some tree services have a long list of names, so it may just take some inquiring to find out.

As for a place to start…  I would contact these companies or agencies in addition to Asplundh:

• International Society of Arborists, Pacific Northwest Chapter:  http://www.pnwisa.org/ – they may have further direction.

• James Kinder, Green Options Tree Care, 5755 Willow Lane, Lake Oswego, OR 97035, Phone: 503-744-0914, Email: info@gotreecare.com, Website: www.GOTreeCare.com

• Mark Bourgeois, Arbor Pro Tree Experts, Phone:  503-473-TREE (8733), Website: www.arborpronw.com – this man specifically told me to call his company and they would maintain a list, and if in my neighborhood may be able to donate mulch.

Lastly, I’d call the Oregon City Hall to find out if they use a specific tree service and get that company’s name to call directly.