More Trees Come Down

I've taken a break from this blog for the past few weeks.  After nearly four years of posts, I felt I was running out of gas.  What, if anything, should I write about?  Just daylilies and firewood?  To be honest, the question remains unanswered at this point.  Suggestions?

This past summer I had Grand Lake Landscaping remove several dead trees along the road, as well as the "Leaning Tower" poplar which threatened to topple over and upend my propane tank as it did.  Tim, the firm's owner, made short work of these trees while his ground crew dodged falling logs and stacked the cut wood.

There were also several dead ash trees on the lakeshore, but Tim recommended removing these in winter so that they could be dropped and sectioned on the ice.  The need was real.  In August one rotted tree collapsed and dropped its crown into the lake.  I think I'll just leave it there.  It makes good cover for fish.

February set a low-temperature record here at Presque Isle.  Tim didn't work his crew in such nasty weather.  But yesterday morning, with temperatures finally in the 50s, and Lake Esau still nicely frozen, Tim and his crew could finally get to work.  They quickly dropped three lakeside ash, cut them into 5-foot sections, and stacked them off to the side.  I asked Shane, one of Tim's employees, to return in a few weeks with a large log splitter.  He will reduce these big logs to chucks I can manage.

This tree, dead for years, with its crown already gone,
posed a risk to anyone using the lakeshore.

After dropping the tree, Tim quickly sections it...

...while his ground crew carries the big logs up my
slippery slope and stacks them on top of the hill.

Shane chips brush.  Tim's chipper ($32,000 new) will
reduce a 10-inch log to chips in just a few seconds.

One day late last fall, after my firewood supply was stacked and ready for use, I found that a large ash limb had dropped just behind the wood in an area where I frequently walk.  One of the dead ash in this area was starting to fall apart, as ash trees do a few years after they die.  First a limb or two, and then the crown, come crashing down.  It's not for nothing that these sudden deadfalls are called widowmakers!

After dealing with the trees on the lakeshore, Tim and Crew turned their attention to a few trees near the woodpiles.  All of these posed a risk to life and limb, as well as to my house.

A risk to the house, this dead ash is dropped
onto my side lot.  I'm glad it's down and gone.

Tim makes short work of this grandfather while his
a crew member gets his exercise for the day.

This was the tree which dropped one of its limbs on
my firewood area.  Good riddance.

Tim has 20 years experience in tree removal.  He works
quickly but carefully.  It's a dangerous profession!

My main woodpile, while much reduced on the house side, remains quite large.  However, last summer I found that some of the wood was rotting away.  After four years exposed to the elements, that is to be expected.  I sorted sheep from goats and put the too-wet-to-burn wood on my brush pile beside the driveway.  But then, what to do with the brush pile?

It turns out that Tim heats his home with wood and uses an outdoor furnace.  He said he will take my castoff wood, and also chip up the brush, when I develop a supply large enough to warrant his visit.

By the way, Tim will travel to cut trees.  If you live downstate and need a tree removed, Tim does good work at reasonable prices.  He is insured, too.  Contact Grand Lake Landscaping at Presque Isle. •••