If you want to contact the Abbey
to say how much you like the website
or
to make a donation
or
with general questions:
Saint Benedict Abbey
252 Still River Road
Post Office Box 67
Still River, MA
01467
978-456-3221
abbey@abbey.org
If you want to visit, contact Fr. James at
abbeyretreats@aol.com
If you want to become a monk
Contact Fr. Anthony at
abbeyvocation@aol.com
If you want to contact Abbot Xavier
to congratulate him
fatherxavierosb@yahoo.com
LEFT: The massive majestic maple tree which graced the back lawn outside the abbey chapel provided shade and cool for over a half a century!
Sad to say, the tree became dangerous when its own weight caused it to split and lean precariously toward the house. So our friends with TreeMasters of New England,Luis and Viviane Gutierres sent a top crew, CJ and Wagner, who cut up the entire tree in just a few hours.
The Great Maple Takedown
Sometimes getting lost in the thick leaves, CJ seemed to float over 60 feet in the air, directing his bucket to each branch.
His partner on the ground, Wagner, worked nonstop, dragging huge branches to a chipper, reducing the mighty maple to wood chips.
CJ would strategically, almost artistically, move his bucket up and down, side to side to avoid dropping limbs on his partner below.
Sometimes he would extend the bucket to its limits and then reach way out to catch a rogue branch.
The crew never seemed to be rushing, however, the inexorable limb by limb cutting eventually left nothing behind.
To our great surprise, we found that this beautiful maple not only made for an elegant west lawn...
and, with its huge canopy of leaves, provided much appreciated shade from the summer sun...
it also hid the badly peeling and faded paint on the west side of St. Therese House and St. Catherine House! Yikes!
When CJ removed all the leafy branches, it was shockingly bare.
One of the older brothers said it reminded him of the bombed out countryside of France during WWII.
Close to finishing, CJ raised the bucket halfway to show how high the tree HAD been.
Wagner never stopped working, throwing limbs up 5-6 inches thick into the chipper.
We had plenty of sidewalk superintendents who all agreed, "If you had not seen the "Before"...
You would never have believed the "After."
While we were sad to lose "an old friend," the great maple takedown gave a new meaning to "A room with a view!" Not that the monks would ever be looking out the windows when we are supposed to be praying, but everyone remarked on the expansive view to the west horizon.
The Finale - Viviane's brother, Flavio, backed a "cherrypicker"log truck into the now-barren yard, neatly stacked all the heavy limbs in back, and drove off into the sunset.
