Ye olde tree and me historee
Hi, I'm Coopdawg Cooper. Also known as Treedawg when I work with trees.
So, here's my story.
I became very interested with plants and trees while I was a wee lad. I used to have my mom take me to the plant nursery and look at all the immense variety. Sometimes we would buy a plant I found interesting to put in the front yard. I knew nothing about the plants except what I thought looked neat. If the sign mentioned that a tree grew to be 100 feet tall, this was incredible to me since I was only about 4 feet tall, and since we never went to the forest, there were no trees that size around me in the suburbs and it was a rather alien concept. We didn't have the internet, so looking this stuff up was only possible through outdated like rare books.
I used to make rock gardens and terrariums, but like any kid that age, interest would wane after a short time. True tree love would have to wait. House plants were still pretty uncommon, mostly reserved for hippies and girls that wore ponchos and burned incense.
My goal as a career had always been as a craftsman in the architectural world, and my hobbies mostly revolved around art, architecture, carpentry, crafts, gardening, and pounding on things with hammers.
When I started driving, the first job I took on was pruning. Not excellent pruning, but pretty darn good, and I was an ace at trimming hedges to razor precision. I started learning about REAL, proper perfectionistic pruning over the years.
Jump ahead a number of years. I think I was in a restaurant that had some potted Japanese Maples, and it fulfilled my design and nature sensibilities simultaneously. I just had to go out and buy one right away. Well, within just a few days of that revelation, I happened upon a bonsai show. Before that, I'd seen bonsai and was fascinated, but had no real way to become more educated or involved since I thought only the Japanese would or could do it. So that was the biggie. At that point my interest really took off, and I absorbed everything I could about trees in a very short time. I learned to prune the right way and could identify most trees along with their botanical names. I collected a bunch. That collection continues to grow monthly.
I remained a cabinetmaker and remodeling contractor during this time. But as years went by, I had the urge to make pruning part of my business. I would prune trees for friends and clients, but never actively sought work doing pruning. Remaining a hobby wasn't enough.
Over the past few years, I've studied trees and pruning more extensively, and fine-tuned the craft. The thing I realize the most is how badly managed almost all trees are, including by so-called experts. I have an obsession now with making trees absolutely as good as they can be.
Finally, in the last couple years, I decided to make a go of it, and tree management is now a fair chunk of the work I do. It's the most fun I have at work, and I'm every bit as good at it as any of the trades I practiced for many years. Being a perfectionist leads one to strive to be great at multiple things. If I don't get really good at something, I tend to move on unless it's mandatory or lots of fun. I suppose as I get older that I won't be able to do hard remodeling labor, but can prune trees well into my 80's or 90's, though I probably won't be climbing tall trees at that point.
In addition, I'm an avid collector of all sorts of trees. I keep every one of them in a pot, mostly miniaturized to one degree or another, all waiting for a future home in the Cooperetum, or maybe in your yard if we get to that kind of business. When I collect a tree, I get pretty attached to it with all the special treatment I give it, so letting go would be a bit difficult.
I hope to share my knowledge and yours, learn more about trees from around the world, and maybe work with you.
The end.
So, here's my story.
I became very interested with plants and trees while I was a wee lad. I used to have my mom take me to the plant nursery and look at all the immense variety. Sometimes we would buy a plant I found interesting to put in the front yard. I knew nothing about the plants except what I thought looked neat. If the sign mentioned that a tree grew to be 100 feet tall, this was incredible to me since I was only about 4 feet tall, and since we never went to the forest, there were no trees that size around me in the suburbs and it was a rather alien concept. We didn't have the internet, so looking this stuff up was only possible through outdated like rare books.
I used to make rock gardens and terrariums, but like any kid that age, interest would wane after a short time. True tree love would have to wait. House plants were still pretty uncommon, mostly reserved for hippies and girls that wore ponchos and burned incense.
My goal as a career had always been as a craftsman in the architectural world, and my hobbies mostly revolved around art, architecture, carpentry, crafts, gardening, and pounding on things with hammers.
When I started driving, the first job I took on was pruning. Not excellent pruning, but pretty darn good, and I was an ace at trimming hedges to razor precision. I started learning about REAL, proper perfectionistic pruning over the years.
Jump ahead a number of years. I think I was in a restaurant that had some potted Japanese Maples, and it fulfilled my design and nature sensibilities simultaneously. I just had to go out and buy one right away. Well, within just a few days of that revelation, I happened upon a bonsai show. Before that, I'd seen bonsai and was fascinated, but had no real way to become more educated or involved since I thought only the Japanese would or could do it. So that was the biggie. At that point my interest really took off, and I absorbed everything I could about trees in a very short time. I learned to prune the right way and could identify most trees along with their botanical names. I collected a bunch. That collection continues to grow monthly.
I remained a cabinetmaker and remodeling contractor during this time. But as years went by, I had the urge to make pruning part of my business. I would prune trees for friends and clients, but never actively sought work doing pruning. Remaining a hobby wasn't enough.
Over the past few years, I've studied trees and pruning more extensively, and fine-tuned the craft. The thing I realize the most is how badly managed almost all trees are, including by so-called experts. I have an obsession now with making trees absolutely as good as they can be.
Finally, in the last couple years, I decided to make a go of it, and tree management is now a fair chunk of the work I do. It's the most fun I have at work, and I'm every bit as good at it as any of the trades I practiced for many years. Being a perfectionist leads one to strive to be great at multiple things. If I don't get really good at something, I tend to move on unless it's mandatory or lots of fun. I suppose as I get older that I won't be able to do hard remodeling labor, but can prune trees well into my 80's or 90's, though I probably won't be climbing tall trees at that point.
In addition, I'm an avid collector of all sorts of trees. I keep every one of them in a pot, mostly miniaturized to one degree or another, all waiting for a future home in the Cooperetum, or maybe in your yard if we get to that kind of business. When I collect a tree, I get pretty attached to it with all the special treatment I give it, so letting go would be a bit difficult.
I hope to share my knowledge and yours, learn more about trees from around the world, and maybe work with you.
The end.
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