That sounds like a great deal, and there is probably job security for them if they do that particular kind of work all of the time. The reputation keeps them busy. My friend who took out the tree (with his wife's brother) does a variety of work, and he prefers the tree stuff before they've all leafed out. He also hires a separate subcontractor to do stump grinding if people want that. It's a small network of friends and family who parse out the work amongst themselves.

Jon, your mother is lucky that you've set all of this up, and the photos are more precious as time passes. I've done something like that, but in a Google Drive folder that is shared with my ex and our children, since we're scattered all over the place.

I checked in with my brother today after hearing about flooding in Vermont; it turns out he's back in California with his ex (he and his ex are friends, something our generation managed that our parents never did apres divorce; I think we learned from their mistakes.) The place he is leasing is above the damaging water, and the new house is on a ridge, away from the wet. For our New England lurkers, stay safe! Take an extra pair of socks and shoes if you have to go out so you don't have to spend the day with wet feet. (I'm looking at you, Keb.)