Among the many chores I mentioned in my last post was the toppling of several large trees. There were three trees in that were dead and needed removal. At some point recently one of the branches of the trees fell and speared the ground below to a depth of 6-8 inches. To keep the trees in such a state in a potentially populated area would be very dangerous. Before the wedding these bare behemoths would need to come down. These trees were probably around 50 feet tall and while that isn’t gigantic it’s still pretty big for the backyard gardener to take out. If you are considering removing trees you may want to hire a professional. I had a structural engineer do it who happened to be my father-in-law. He really wanted the trees cut done since it was a necessary step to make the backyard safe. Here are some pictures of the trees before they came tumbling down.
There’s a wood pile in front of the trees from another one that was cut down last week.
The tree on the left had no growth on it at all where the one on the right only had a few branches at the top green and lots of dead limbs.
This tree has been dead for several years now and was beginning to drop branches. The only sad part of the dead trees coming down was the unfortunate eviction of the bird in the tree’s cavity.
Hopefully he will find a new home to nest in.
Here is the current state of the backyard. Three trees fallen down that will need trimmed and shredded or hauled away.
My father-in-law did the cutting while I observed and assisted. Mostly I just yelled “IT’S COMING DOWN!!” loud enough so he could get out of the way. I’ll be busy tomorrow cutting the limbs down to appropriate sizes to fit into a shredder which will turn the fallen trees into mulch. Some of the log sections will be used for other projects and firewood. I’ll bring two sections home with me for a future project of my own. I’ll tell you about that one later, any guesses?
glad you got the trees down safely. That is a dangerous task. Nice you can find a use for the wood too.(-:
What kind of bird was in there? It looks very big. I have had big birds nest in a cavity of a wild cherry I need to take out. I hate it when trees die. At least you had a big open spot to drop it. Once when I had a tree cutter cut some trees, a limb he dropped hit my septic lines; which is a mere 18″-24″ below ground. Hubby had to fix it as the tree cutter left without doing it or even reporting.
David,
I am happy to know that the trees are down and there were no injuries. PLEASE be very careful with the chipper!!! Give that job to someone else.
Give the girls lots of hugs and kisses from us.
Mom
It’s always so sad when a tree dies, but of course, they do become a safety hazard. (We lost a huge elm to Dutch Elm disease a few years ago — the growth rings indicated that it was well over 100 years old!) You did a good job to get them down safely.
Poor little bird. I hope he can find a nice home in another tree nearby!
Taking down large trees is a big job. Congrats on getting it done. We try to keep on top of the tree care, trimming, etc. It’s expensive and time-consuming, but necessary.
One thing we learned recently from an insurance adjuster…if you see that a neighbor’s tree is doing damage to your property or is dead/diseased and in danger of falling towards your property, notify them in writing (certified mail) otherwise when/if it falls, unless you can prove negligence on their part, it might be considered an “Act of God” and they/their insurance are not liable for damages.
We cut down trees before spring or in late fall to keep sure we dont take away an animals home or babies. Some times it does not work out that way though as Mother Nature may take it down for us… I am wondering what type of bird that was also. Maybe a yellow belly sap sucker. I enlarged the photo but real blurry but could see yellow on belly. Since inside a tree cavity, I am thinking a woodpecker….
Going to be a nasty job getting that tree up in this heat. Just hope you don’t have the humidity up there… I know we have lost some sweat equity on cutting trees. Hard job to do and good luck… Cant wait to see what your plans are for the wood…. Fence, Planter, Walkway border, hum, the ideas are endless…
Thanks Cindee,
The log’s have worked perfectly so far. I’ll share that soon.
Tina,
I’m not sure about the bird. I suspect that it was a yellow-bellied sapsucker but I haven’t looked it up to confirm that. The funny thing was I was just snapping the picture of the hole and up popped the bird’s head! I think I would have reported the tree cutter to someone, I’m not sure who though.
Mom,
everything went OK, the safety precautions on the chipper were as safe as can be. You don’t even come close to any blades.
Nancy,
A hundred year old tree. It makes you wonder what kind of history it saw over the years. I counted the rings of one of the trees and got somewhere around 50.
DP,
Me too. I wasn’t happy about his eviction.
Lin,
That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing.
Skeeter,
That’s a good idea to time the cutting better. Unfortunately we waited too late. Fortunately the weather has been pretty good. Cooler than it has been!