The trials and tribulations of tree-felling

Ever had to chop down a big, 50- or 60-year old oak tree, growing two or three feet from the corner of your home?

It's quite a business.

The contractor arrived this morning, sending in a pickup truck with an expert for a preliminary reconnaissance before the crane arrived. He advised me to move my truck at once, because once the crane took up position, nothing would be getting in or out of my driveway for several hours. I hurriedly took his advice.

The crane duly arrived, a monster extending-boom affair on the back of a huge truck. Its driver positioned it across my driveway, and extended the arm. One man climbed the tree; another stayed on the ground, manning a safety rope and observing everything; and a third operated the crane. For each major limb and section of trunk, the crane was securely fastened to the section being cut, the climber did the cutting with his chainsaw, and the crane then lowered the section to the ground, well away from the house. They worked fast and well, clearly very experienced in this sort of thing.

Once the main tree was down, leaving only a three-foot-wide stump about a foot off the ground, the crew turned to the other damaged trees, chopping off the twisted limbs and gathering them into a pile. The crane moved back up the driveway, and all major limbs protruding over it were cut off and piled. (I had them do this as a result of the hurricane lessons learned. Many people didn't have whole trees fall, but were trapped in their homes because their driveways and garages were blocked by fallen branches. I'm hoping I've cleared most of those likely to cause me similar problems.)

While the crane was working around the house, I and anyone else inside had to leave. As the operator explained, having a multi-ton section of oak tree come through the roof onto our heads might ruin our whole day! Fortunately, he didn't make any mistakes, but the Servicemaster crew went elsewhere for the day. They'll be back on Thursday morning to continue the post-fire cleanup. I headed for the bank, to draw cash to pay for the tree-felling, and brought back some cold sodas for the crew.

The crane left after three hours, its job done. A Bobcat skid-steer loader and its crew worked through the afternoon, gathering up all the severed limbs and sections of trunk and depositing them at the roadside ready for collection. (There are dozens of such piles up and down the length of every street here.) The skid-steer loader carved up my driveway and lawn, unfortunately, and parts now look as if a herd of prehistoric gigantic armadillos had been rampaging up and down: but nothing else could have handled the amount of work in so short a time. I'll have to have a garden services outfit roll the lawn after the next good rain, to smooth it out again.

At least if another hurricane comes calling, the most "risky" tree near the house is now gone. An expensive job, but worthwhile. My neighbor across the street, seeing the tree-fellers at work, promptly hired them to come to his place in a day or two to trim all his protruding branches as well, and others further down the street gathered to watch and make arrangements of their own. I daresay the contractor will get several jobs here as a result. (Perhaps I should charge a commission!)

Peter