Friday, March 4, 2011

Taking Down Trees, Day 2

The tree service came back today for the two pines.  Watching that first pine being topped off was just as nerve wracking as watching the oak yesterday!  With Nate's workshop right beside the trees and the power lines running behind the yards, I marvel at their precision in topping off and dropping each tree.  Even with the day being overcast, I can see how much more open the yard will be, and I'm excited to see the difference it will make once the sun gets higher in the sky.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but that oak cast alot of shade over the yard during the summer.  I hate taking down beautiful healthy trees, but believe me, there are many more you don't see on all sides.   

Here are some before and after photos for your viewing pleasure!

 

With those three trees, I think we managed to open a pretty good corridor through the backyard at least until late afternoon when trees in the other neighbor's yard and along the back end of my yard start to interfere.  There is one tree on the west side of my yard that I would love to take down next, but the budget didn't allow it this time.

This is the mess we get to clean up!  We only paid to have the trees dropped, but not removed.  It was 1/2 as expensive to do the clean up work ourselves.  Good manual labor never hurt anyone, right? 


I guess the bright spot is it smells like pine in my yard.

Happy homesteading,


Candace







4 comments:

  1. Wow, Candace, I applaud you and Nate for taking the initiative to have those trees removed. Not an easy or cheap decision, I'm sure, but it sounds like you saved a good bit of $$ by doing the clean up yourself. Daniel says he wishes he could be there to help you with the wood chainsawing, chopping etc. Our big home improvement this year was to install a wood-burning stove. We've been able to use it almost primarily as our sole source of heating (we have a hybrid oil/electric heat system - so far, it has saved us a ton of $$$!) So, he is always on the lookout for wood!
    As usual, I really enjoy reading all your posts. Augusta seems to be about 6 weeks ahead of us seasonally, so I am taking note of your planting schedules, etc, and getting some real inspiration. Thanks for sharing your tips!
    Oh, I also just received my copy of Artisan Bread - I can't wait to try it out. I had to go out and buy a pizza stone, but I LOVED your brilliant idea about the recycled icing/frosting bucket to hold the dough. I will definitely be asking our grocery's bakery for one as well! :) Take care!

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  2. Carrie: It's too bad he can't be here because we would welcome the help! I'm so envious that you have a wood-burning stove. We've been talking about getting one for a few years, and it's on our wish list for this year. I would really love to have a wood burning cook stove. I'm glad to hear it has worked out well for you since your winters are much colder than ours. Thanks for the kind words. I'll keep writing if you keep reading. Talk to you soon, Candace

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  3. Manual labour makes you live forever and saves on gym membership fees ;) Good on ya! Keep it up!

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  4. Shelly: That is so true! We got a great workout cleaning up the debris today.

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