re: "my giant weeds (maple trees)."
I feel for you. My cousin just took down a huge sugar maple in his back yard. It was beautiful, but if it had dropped a limb, it might have totaled his home. It must have had a 5 foot (diameter) trunk.
I forgot to check on it this trip. He had taken it down, but I don't know if anyone has hauled it away yet. He was courting offers in the several thousand dollar range. (People make table tops and furniture out of such wood.)

Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months