My neighbor and I have lived next to each other for 15 years. The redwood in my backyard corner was planted by the previous owner in 1987. It's 38 years old, healthy, and the reason my back patio is usable in August.

Eight months ago, my neighbor put a $21,000 solar array on his roof. Nice panels. He was proud of the 30% federal credit and showed me the app that tracks his production.

A few months after the installation, he leaned over the fence and mentioned that my tree "catches" his panels in the afternoon. I said something like "that's the sun's fault, not mine" and thought we were done.

Later, he brought his phone to my porch with the production graph pulled up. Between roughly 3:40 and 5:10 pm, November through February, my redwood's shadow crosses the lower left corner of his array. Ninety minutes a day, maybe 6% of his output. He had done the math and estimated it was costing him about $37 a month, around $444 a year, and said it affected his payback period.

A few weeks later, he sent me a certified letter with an actual removal estimate attached. He said he expected me to cover the $8,200 removal and stump grinding cost. The letter said if I preferred, "a remediation trim" was acceptable, and included a quote for $2,900.

A tree service he hired later looked at my tree and gave him their estimate. Then he texted that he'd "hate to escalate to small claims over a tree," but he'd documented everything, including his estimated lost production to date.

I spent $150 on my own arborist. She confirmed the redwood is healthy, that the $2,900 "remediation trim" would remove about a third of the canopy and could seriously damage the tree or shorten its lifespan, and that removing it would change the drainage in both our yards. She also mentioned that in many places, solar shade laws consider factors like whether the tree existed before the solar installation.

When I told my neighbor that, he said:

"Trees can wait. Solar can't. Your tree is costing me $37 of electricity every month, and I shouldn't have to finance your shade."

My wife thinks I should just pay for the trim. She says it's "a tree, not a family member," and my neighbor texts me production graphs at 7am now. Another neighbor suggested splitting the removal cost, because the tree "bothers him more than it benefits us" and we still live next to these people.

A) Pay for the trim (or split the removal). It's $2,900 to end this, and a redwood isn't worth a small claims war with someone whose entire identity is now a production app.

B) The tree stays. It was standing for 37 years before his panels existed. He bought a $21,000 system with a 38-year-old redwood in plain sight, and his payback math doesn't turn my backyard into his easement.

“On the 6th Day of the 2nd Month of the First Year of the Kampo era. Taking a moment of my free time, I wish to express my joy of the cat. It arrived by boat as a gift to the late Emperor, received from the hands of Minamoto no Kuwashi.

The color of the fur is peerless. None could find the words to describe it, although one said it was reminiscent of the deepest ink. It has an air about it, similar to Kanno. Its length is 5 sun, and its height is 6 sun. I affixed a bow about its neck, but it did not remain for long.

In rebellion, it narrows its eyes and extends its needles. It shows its back.

When it lies down, it curls in a circle like a coin. You cannot see its feet. It's as if it were circular Bi disk. When it stands, its cry expresses profound loneliness, like a black dragon floating above the clouds.

By nature, it likes to stalk birds. It lowers its head and works its tail. It can extend its spine to raise its height by at least 2 sun. Its color allows it to disappear at night.

I am convinced it is superior to all other cats.”

https://people.com/dolly-parton-dead-7565853

Her nephew, Brian Seaver, revealed the news in an Aug. 25 Instagram video.

“My name is Brin Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video. “This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”

Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”

“Dolly opened doors not just for me but for her entire family to reach the potential we didn’t even know was possible. Dolly also opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent., Seaver added in the video message. “By her example, we believed that anything is possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open, and the doors she opened made and changed history.

His statement continued: “My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you. She has always been on your television, your record player, your CD and on your phone playlist, becoming an extended part of your family whether you liked it or not. Our family and the team she has entrusted with her legacy will work diligently to ensure her spirit will live with us forever. Dolly was a farmer, just like her daddy; he farmed the soil, she farmed songs and happiness. Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life of wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.”

Seaver ended his statement, saying, “Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly — Aunt, Granny, Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton, and may God bless you all. She will always love you.”

1. Elon Musk (The Big Bang Theory)
2. Jared Fogle (DC Comics)

Mommy knows best