In the spring, we had Lincoln from Lincoln’s Tree Service here to remove six trees. We had met with him two weeks before the cutting, and he provided us with a very reasonable estimate for the removals, which we accepted.
A couple of weeks later, Lincoln phoned us the day before and asked if he could come over the next day to remove the trees, and we agreed. Lincoln showed up with a couple of helpers the morning of the removal. There was one tree, a hemlock, and due to its location, it would need to be climbed and removed in pieces. This is the tree that Lincoln went after first. He put on his special climbing boots and then his climbing gear and started up the tree. I was surprised to see that he didn’t wear gloves! One of the helpers said he never does.
Rose took a time-lapse movie of Lincoln climbing and cutting on the hemlock tree, which is below.
All the trees were pretty large, being at least two feet in diameter. I have included some pictures of the tree rings from one of the alders. I counted 50 rings.
In addition to the hemlock tree, there were five alder trees and one maple. The alders grow here like weeds, and as they age, they weaken and break off at the top. One had already broken and dropped a large piece on my workshop, damaging the roof and ruining the gutter. It had to come down.
Lincoln’s job was to get the trees on the ground safely. Rose and I were going to do all the cleanup. We knew it was a chore but were up for it. In took most of the spring and summer but ROSE AND I HAVE MOST OF IT CLEANED UP NOW. Luckily the trees were cut down before they had leafed out for the spring. The satellite view below shows our property and the approximate location of the trees we had cut down. A for alder, H for hemlock, and M for maple. The line from the circle shows where the tree was laid down.
I have a friend who takes the logs for firewood to heat his home, and he will be coming by to pick up the logs. He took most of the logs from the last time we had trees removed.
A couple of years ago, we had about the same number of trees removed, and Rose and I also did that cleanup. At that time, I had purchased a small chipper/shredder and used it to make wood chips that Rose uses in her plant beds, and we shred all the smaller stuff from the trees. This first chipper didn’t last long, and as they say, “you get what you pay for.” I think it was in the range of $350. It lasted about one season and then was breaking/shaking itself apart. I ended up giving it away.
I then spent the money ($1,400) to get a better chipper that would last. I did some research and settled on a company called Patriot. I read many good reviews of their products and took the leap, purchasing it through Amazon. We have now had our Patriot 10-hp chipper for the past four years, and it is still going strong. It is made ten times better and has support. I can remove the chipping blades and sharpen them every 6-8 hours, as recommended. Our chipper can take limbs up to 3” in diameter. From trees the size we had removed, there are many limbs that are 3” or less, so there is a lot of chipping. Below is a picture of the chips that we make.
I have been terrible about finishing stories and posting them here. I started writing this in the spring and am finally finishing it and posting it. I have to get better!
We had Lincoln leave about 20 feet or so of the hemlock standing so we can use it to attach bird houses. Below is a picture of what we have placed on the tree so far.
