Finally! I Can See the Light!

There are two large projects

(besides my regular small DIY and yard work)

that have been on my to-do list this  year.

 

One of these large projects is to have my trees trimmed.

 

This may not seem like a big deal to some,

but for me and my 75 year old Elm tree,

it is a VERY big deal!

 

This tree is GINORMOUS and had become so overgrown that it felt as if it was going to engulf my house!

 

The last time I had the trees trimmed was 2010, and at that time I had the trees reshaped and only lightly trimmed, and I quickly realized that it wasn't enough.

 

The trees, especially the Elm, needed a more aggressive trim so that they not only looked better,

but to help the light come into the back yard

and patio area which keeps air and light

coming thru and the moisture under control.

 

 

This is a picture from the back yard and not only was this Elm taking over the space and blocking out the sun, I also have three

Rose of Sharon bushes that are out of control!

 

They have grown up into the power lines to about 10 feet tall and beyond the point of what I can maintain myself.

This limb has driven me crazy for FOUR straight years

and now I can't wait to see it go!

 

Pretty soon you will be outta here!

So in come the big guns!  I have never had a tree company use one of these lifts until now and I was totally smitten with this thing!

It was awesome!

One of the crew members got into the lift and was able to get high up into the tree with his chain saw and start trimming away.

Amazing! 

There he is all up in the tree cutting branches left and right.

This tree is HUGE and severely needed to be thinned out.

Aaaah, I can start to see some light coming thru!

The tree was so large and overgrown that they needed a second guy to work on it so this guy, who I totally admire after watching him work, just climbed right up in to the tree with this chainsaw in hand and begin trimming.

Two guys and three house just for this tree alone!

He totally scared me and I kept circling around the yard watching him to make sure he was ok and not going to fall!!!

 

So you may wonder how they cut large branches without having them fall on your house.

Well, here is what they do.....they use a pulley system that allows them to pull the branch into the direction they want it to fall as it is being cut down.

It allows them to have control over the branches.

 

 

See how they pull the branch?

 

Then a guy below untangles the tree from the pulley and it is hauled out to the wood chipper where it will be chipped up.

There was a small crew of two or three guys constantly keeping the limbs chipped and the yard clean while the trimmers were actually cutting down the limbs.

They had a really nice system in place and were very organized in the way they worked.

Here's the climber guy cutting down that dang branch that I couldn't stand!

I wanted to clap and give him a standing ovation as I watched that thing fall to the ground!!!! LOL

 

Yes, he is standing on the very branch he is cutting. Scary. Weird. Yes, but it worked!

TIM-BER!!!!  Bye-bye ugly tree branch!!!

Now, as you look at this picture below you are probably wondering "What is that hot mess they are cutting?"

That hot mess is a set of three rose of Sharon bushes that are WAY over grown and out of control!

They grew up into the power lines and got so large that I could not maintenance them. My electric trimmers would not cut thru them and they needed a chain saw to cut them down to a manageable size.

Aaahhhh, So much better!

More light and less leaves this Fall!

 

I love this tree and the shade it provides, and the rose of Sharon for the privacy they provide to the patio and of course their flowers,

but they were SO badly overgrown

and needed to be trimmed!

 

It took about three hours for the crew to trim all the trees in my back yard, haul away a pile of limbs that I had previously cut down and had sitting in a pile, and to cut the Rose of Sharon down to about 5 feet.

 

I was the first appointment of the day so I could still make it to work after they were done, so they arrived around 8am and brought a crew of about six or seven guys.

 

They each had very specific roles and everyone worked together to get the job done.

 

They even raked up the small branches and leaves that fell so when they were done and gone you would never even know that they had been there!

 

I am super excited to have this project marked off my to-do list and because I had the trees trimmed an aggressive trim I will probably not need any more trimming for about three years.

 

The sun now shines thru the branches and comes into my back yard and patio area so the grass and flowers can grow!

 

It also helps keep the moisture under control too.

 

I am super happy to have this project marked off my list!

 

Woot! Woot!