[Official Editors hat on]
When I first saw this I was going to kill it. Then I thought it might be educational for someone to explain that this activity is not only illegal, immoral and unfriendly, and if I caught you doing it to me or mine you would probably get to experience the feeling of hot lead passing thru body parts and hopefully striking bone.
We often joke about "lopping off" some offending trees but we all know it is a hollow threat / joke unless it is our own property.
My personal opinion of you has just fallen thru the floor[s[ into the deepest basement. Don't try to backpedal because you cannot "unsay" this.
Almost worse is that a couple people actually gave you advice on how to commit the crime which makes them accessories before the fact and conspirators.
Depending on the state and the trees this could be a felony.
Just don't do it and do not expect us to forget this flippant disregard for the property of others.
Some of us place extreme importance on morality and proper treatment of others. It is before coffee but my sense of right and wrong is not affected by coffee, just my "be nice" side.
Cheerless.
TomW