Spring Cleaning - Tree Removal

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While I hesitate to clean out beds at this time of year because so much wildlife depends on leaf litter for food and protection, we did have half a dozen junk trees removed.

Many things we planted when we knew little about OK gardening have either died or had to be removed. The four poplar (cotton-less cottonwood) trees were too close to the neighbor's fence and had grown into the power lines.

Plus, the poplar trees we planted on the opposite side of the yard toppled over in a strong wind. The neighbor's large workshop is just on the other side of that fence and we were afraid that the wrong wind would crush his building.

This elm tree was here when we moved in almost 20 years ago. It is shaded by nearby large trees so was failing, dropping large chunks of wood and the branches were peeling off. We have lopped off lower branches but then this winter the entire top of the thing broke off.

We were lucky that our son, Jason, had plenty of experience with tree trimming and removal from when he lived on a working farm in Germany for a few years.

Watching him climb up, check the ladder, practice making the cuts before even turning on the saw was like watching artistry in action.

The other tree he took out for us was a Bradford (male) pear. The birds planted it a few years ago and it grew like a weed.

By the time Jason took it on, it had to land perfectly in order to not crush valuable shrubs that were thriving around its trunk. It was amazing. He eyeballed it, calculated the trunk cuts and landed it exactly where it had to fall.

What you see on the right side of the picture of the Bradford pear trunk is a gate post. The house is directly west of the top of the tree. The plant on the left is a 6 year old witch hazel shrub.

Unbelievably close quarters and a perfectly executed job.

I asked him if he would want to do tree work for income - absolutely no way was his response. Oh, well.

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