Stiff Weeds

Terry Pratchett had one of his characters refer to trees as "stiff weeds".  Like any garden plants, the trees around a house need constant tending.

So what do you do if the forest hasn't been weeded in a long time?  Call in a gardener.  In this case a very competent and efficient arborist.

At 7:15 a.m., 5 men, 4 trucks, a chipper and a Bobcat with a claw arrived.  At 7:30 a.m. the crane showed up.  Within 30 minutes the first two trees had been cut, lifted over a house, and cut to length, with the branches chipped.  By the time the rain came in at 1:00 p.m. and made the work too dangerous, 14 trees, many of them pines close to 90 feet tall, were all stacked up nicely to be carried away.

It was a pleasure to watch experts.  One man rode a bucket to the top and tied a cable to the tree, then moved lower and cut.  The crane lifted the tree down where it was grabbed by the Bobcat and cut up.  Where there were electrical wires in the way, the crane lifted them over.

No room for the bucket, so the crane provided a lift to the top

And lifted the top right off

And put it down in the right spot

Where the bucket could be used, everything went faster.   

Tie off the treetop

Slide down

Cut the tree

And away it went

Each one of those ballast weights weighs 5,500 pounds

Lift the tree over the wires and set it down