Timber--Part Two

Ward is guest blogger for today.


We recently had a diseased spruce and a diseased maple tree taken down. The tree company we hired came with a crew of nine and finished both trees in a little over an hour. They were impressive to watch. Below are highlights from their operations of taking down the maple tree. The spruce tree procedures were similar.

The maple tree had been killed by years of visits by sapsuckers. The sapsuckers would peck a ring of holes all around the trunk, about a quarter inch across, about half an inch apart. There were rings of holes all over the tree.

 

This was the telescoping pole chainsaw they used to cut the lower branches off the tree. It was about 12-14' long when extended. The blade was about 12" long.

This guy could whip the saw quite skillfully all over the place. As he worked his way around the tree, his coworkers would drag the branches away to the chipper.

Here is the chipper. It would take a long branch 15-20' in about 30 seconds. This was a very loud machine.

The tree was about 30' tall. They tied a rope to put tension away from the house, and used a big chain saw and cut the trunk. You can't see it here but he did cut a notch in the trunk on the side direction it was supposed to fall, and it did fall exactly where it was supposed to.

As soon as the tree was down, workers swarmed around the tree and started cutting and carrying away branches.

Others were working on the stump. The stump was about 12" in diameter and he cut it into pieces about 18" long. The chipper handled these large stump pieces easily. A little more heavy duty than the one in our shed.

While some were cutting and chipping, others were raking and carrying away small debris.

Once the stump was cut low to the ground, the man with the stump grinder started to grind the stump and roots. As you would expect, the spruce tree was much easier to grind than the maple.

They were a thorough crew. They even blew a little bit of saw dust from the pavement.

This was what was left when they were done.

Timber--Part One

Today we had a maple tree taken down that was dead because of a persistent sapsucker.  The crew we hired was amazing and the tree was reduced to a few wood chips in less than an hour. However, its memories will last much longer.

The maple tree was Theodore's tree. He spent much of his childhood there. It was the one he hid in when he didn't want us to find him. The one where he could go to be alone. The one where he found comfort when he he couldn't understand things. It was also the one to climb with Wally and his friends and the one to show off in. Ward and I liked the beauty of the tree and the shade it provided on hot summer days. However, it was Theodore's tree.

As a mother, I already miss Theodore's tree. I'm glad I have the memories.

Below is a poem that Theodore wrote about this maple tree when he was nine.

My Climbing Tree

Up in my tree,

I'm as happy as can be,

Without a care or a worry.

With leaves everywhere,

Twigs and branches in the air,

Up here, there is no hurry.

With wind on my face,

And astounding grace,

Up my tree I scurry.