Would this upset you?

So, I happened to be over at my wife's uncle's house over the weekend when he mentioned that he would have to have two giant (24"+ diameter) sugar maples taken down in front of his house. Said that with signs of decay, he just doesn't want to risk them coming down in a storm. My ears perk up and I say what any wood junky would say..."what do you plan to do with the wood?" He says that he's just going to have the tree guys haul it away. I kindly ask if he'd be willing to let me haul it away, since that's a lot of primo firewood. He gives me the kind of response that skirts the question, knowing that saying no would make him look like a jerk, but there isn't a shot in he!! that he'll let me take the wood.

This is a man that has literally helped me cut and split wood in the past and we often talk wood. The only logical reason I can see is that, being retired, he wants the wood and it's mess gone as quickly as possible. I offered to pay him for it, but he still wouldn't care. He just wants to be sure that he doesn't see a remnant of it and doesn't want to have to do any work. I live a half mile away and would certainly do my best to haul it away and clean up as quickly as possible, but obviously can't compete with a crew of tree trimmers.

I've helped him out with many things in the past, and for his sake I hope he doesn't need any help from me in the time it takes me to forget about this.

I thought about doing what you guys suggest, even offering to pay an additional if the tree guys want to charge to haul it over to my place. My wife, however, says we've already pushed the issue enough and to just let them do what they want with their trees. My response...that's fine, but I will do what I want with my time the next time he hits me up for some help.

He is married, and that certainly may be part of the problem. She brings a whole new level of orderliness that most have never seen. Let's just say that they don't even have an artificial Christmas tree, because it would make too much of a mess. That being said, she's still the close/blood relative. If she has it in her mind that the tree trimmer's saws don't make chips, she's in for a surprise.

I agree with all of you and appreciate your thoughts. Dealing with family is always a tricky situation. I think it's a going to be a lost cause, as I have a feeling the next time I drive by or see the man the trees will already be gone. This ranks right up there with what he did last year...he bought a new truck from a competing dealership than the one my brother in law (his nephew) worked at. He never even mentioned it to anyone until he showed up one day driving it. Go figure