Unfortunately, we recently had to take down a large fir* tree. Birds had been drilling into it to the point that the whole middle of the tree was dead. I wonder if it was the same birds that liked to roost in the top of the tree? I guess we'll never know.
Anyway, the tree guy, Sonny, was amazing. The fir was close to Ward's shop, our new fence, and the neighbor's new garage. A tricky business for a 40' tree, but he didn't even brush a branch on any of those things. Tree felling is a very dangerous and skilled job. While the job was expensive, I think he earned every penny of it. Here are some pictures from the day.
This is the back corner of our lot where 3 lots come together. You can see that Sonny and his helper have to work in close quarters. After throwing a rope (with a weight) over a tall branch, Sonny suited up with his safety and cutting gear and started climbing.
He cut the branches off one by one as he climbed.
Sonny looped the rope around the branch he was cutting, while his helper on the ground held the rope taut and helped control where the branch fell.
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| They continued with this until the top of the tree was small enough to be cut with its branches. |
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| Sonny then went back down the trunk, cutting ~3' sections at a time until he reached the base. |
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| The trunk was about 30" across at its base, so they had to cut it into pieces before they could carry it back to their truck. |
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| They chipped what they could and hauled the rest away for a bigger chipper. Later that day, he came back and ground the stump. |
I was sad to see the tree go, but with the new sunlight, I'm already thinking about what things we might be able to grow in this spot. However, it's going to take some cleanup of wood chips and roots before it will be ready for planting. But I will be dreaming about it until then. 😀
Until next time...
*Ward and I aren't very good at identifying the different kinds of evergreens. I thought the tree was a spruce, and he thought it was a pine. Its pine cones suggest it was a fir, according to Google.
Note: Thanks to Ward for taking these pictures. He was very fascinated by the process and also took several videos. However, I couldn't figure out how to embed them. I thought I was following instructions, but had no luck.
That had me nervous just looking at the photos! Glad it all went smoothly. Have a great Sunday evening. :)
ReplyDeleteIt made me nervous to watch, too.
DeleteWow! That was some expert tree felling! I'm wondering if you kept any of the logs for a stumpery of your own?
ReplyDeleteI've been considering cutting down the eucalyptus in my front garden as it is considered a highly flammable tree. It's due for a trimming this year; I might get an estimate for having it removed. It might be cheaper in the long run!
We considered keeping some of the wood, but decided that we probably wouldn't do anything with it, so we let it go. We have plenty of rocks to make interesting beds, so that's what we will do instead of stumps if we make a new bed like that.
DeleteAcross the fence, the neighbor had an ailing maple tree taken down. I'm still getting used to the new "naked" landscape.
These guys are certainly pros. That would be a very tricky job at best.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's family is fairly skilled at taking down trees. However, we definitely wanted a professional for this job.
DeleteWe've had a couple of trees taken down since we've lived here, and it's always amazing to watch them work. It is expensive, though, but when you consider the cost of a tree falling on a building, as well as the skill that goes into it, it's a worthwhile expense.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely cheaper than dealing with it falling on something and a lot less hassle. Besides the skills, the equipment for the job is expensive. His stump grinder cost $52,000 and he said is wasn't a high model.
DeleteThat is some major skill! Tree work is expensive, but definitely better than destroying something in the process.
ReplyDeleteWe had to have several trees taken down a few years ago that were in a similar "no good way to fall" position, and it was very impressive to see them do it.
I'm amazed every time I see a tree taken down, but this was the trickiest one I've seen.
DeleteWhat an undertaking! We have a giant oak in our front yard and had it trimmed some. It was crazy how much extra sunlight came through with just a bit of trimming. You're going to have so much sunlight!
ReplyDeleteThe only way I have been able to get videos to upload to blogger is through youtube. I haven't been able to use the blogger video upload for ages.
I have loaded YouTube videos before, but not my own. I guess I would have to get an account to upload them to. I should check into that. Thanks for the insight.
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