Update: Visited a nearby nursery. Lots of mud to walk through. They're open, but still waiting for some trees to come in. As a reminder, this is my situation: [IMG]http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/adrianmonk_2007/P2140082.jpg[/IMG] On a cloudy day in the winter, the issue isn't obvious, but I have a real need to shade the house. The house faces south and really gets hit by the summer sun. In addition, there's a need for "screening". I want to look out of the window and see a tree, not the house way up the road. Anyway, the guy at the nursery chatted with me for quite awhile and showed my some of his stuff. I mentioned that I might want to replace the dogwood on the left sector (hardly visible in the pic) in order to shade the house. I also needed a "specimen" in the center. He had plenty of white barked himalayan birches that he suggested for the left sector. This is somewhat shaded in the late afternoon by the street tree, but he thought it would be alright. I brought up the heritage river birch, and he said they'll be getting some in next week. I know the himalayan birch trees are susceptible to disease, but they are nice looking trees. He also showed my a well-shaped October Glory Red Maple (suggested for the center), along with a Forest Pansy Redbud. He doesn't carry Paperbark Maples or Hornbeams which I had brought up. He mentioned purple leafed plums as a small tree. Why is it everyone hates purple leafed plums? :) The idea of a birch on the left sector appeals to me, although I worry about the "full sun" requirement. The street tree over on the left will shade it starting in the late afternoon. Also, there's the issue of whether to risk getting a Himalayan birch for that nice white bark. The October Glory seemed nice. I asked if it would work in the left sector, and he seemed to think the center sector would be better for it, so it wouldn't collide with the street tree. Well, I'll probably check out other places as well. Is the Himalayan Birch really a bad idea? Anyway, it was good to see the trees in real life instead of the Internet :)

I have to say decluttering is not all its cracked up to be. I went through a big one recently. Now I must admit... it felt so liberating... but there was a catch to that liberation. See, I was in the process of getting rid of a lot of things when one day I got a flyer on my door stating that a charity would be coming by and if I would like to donate then all I have to do is leave my bag on the front lawn clearly marked and they would pick it up. WHAT? someone is coming to get my junk? YES!! I had a week. and silly them for thinking it would only be ONE bag. They asked for it they are going to get it!! I thought this was soooo wonderful so I got busy. On the day of pick up I spread a large tarp in my yard and filled it with bags and bags of everything under the sun; from clothes to DVD's and VCR tapes, to books to old pots, pans and knives to furniture to whatever. I went through every room and purged and then went through them and purged again. On the day of pick up they left a few things behind that they decided they did not want either and I just put a "free" sign on it and it was gone by the end of the day. OMG you can never imagine how great this felt. I danced through the house in my new spaces. The elation did not last long though because while I love the way it made my house look so much neater there was a huge problem. NOW I CAN'T FIND JACK IN HERE. Say what you want but when you live in a lot of clutter there is a method to the madness and you know where everything is. For example... I moved my uniform shirts into a pocketbook rack in my closet. I thought this will be neat to have everything right here in one place. Made sense at the time. Next week I could not find them because I forgot where their new place was. It took me over three weeks and after ordering new shirts to find them. Oh yeah and not to mention that when I can't find something I assume I gave it way by accident. Like my uniform shirts, a pair of new shoes I still had in stretchers, and other stuff. COme to find out later I had them, I just couldn't find them. I damn near got in my car and drove to the charity place 4 hours away to see if they would let me go through my bags to find all my missing stuff. LOL. Okay so now to what to do about the dishes. I gave away things I wanted to hold on to for dear life as well. What I wound up doing is calling my daughter and nieces and gave them the story about the responsibility of being keepers of certain things in the family and I told them how important it was to preserve this stuff and NEVER give away. My nieces took the holiday serving platters and a few other things they really needed in their kitchen. Years ago I gave my son a whole china cabinet and it was full of dishes. It made him feel important and he thought it was impressive to be in his 20s and have a china cabinet already full of good china. I doled it all out like that and being that they know I am the family "stuff" keeper they felt it an honor to keep it for the family. Welp I hope that helped just a little bit, if nothing else but to give you a smile.

The trick is anything fast growing will likely hit the power lines pretty soon, and will likely have weak wood. Sounds like you want a tree that tolerates aggressive pruning (so you can hack it up to keep it away from the power lines) and is disease resistant. If you plant something that suckers, then when you cut down one that interferes with the power lines it will throw up new trucks. What about Paw Paw? Disease resistant and suckers. Sassafras albidum? Also suckers and has interesting leaves. Black Gum is supposed to have extra strong wood and be resistant to fallen branches. Look at the trees already there. What seems to be doing well, and looks good to you? Help us narrow down your choices. What is your soil like? Sandy, clay, swampy, salty, acidic? Is wind a problem? Deer? What diseases are a problem around there? What do you want out of these trees? Edible fruit, wildlife interest, winter interest? This post was edited by edlincoln on Fri, Dec 12, 14 at 17:48

I live in the PNW too and many utility boxes have been either painted or wrapped with photo-like images that help them blend into the surroundings. Your utility company or your local town government (together with the utility company) may be interested in doing something similar.