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BIG changes

When I bought my house I knew there were only a few big things that needed to be done. One was to remove a very large Norway maple from the back yard. I love trees, especially big, old trees. I’m a tree planter, not a tree cutter. But this Norway, although healthy enough, took my entire back yard, had to be trimmed almost annually to keep it off the roof of the house and garage and wires, and would be a REAL problem if damaged in a storm. Plus my ‘lawn’ was mostly roots and ruts. I knew I’d have to remove it as soon as possible or it would get emotionally more difficult to do so.

Here’s a shot of my house as of 1PM on Friday. You can see 3 yews in front and that maple out back.

front of house plus tree

The removal crew started work at about 1:15. They were amazing to watch. 4 men with a bunch of equipment working together like a well-oiled machine.

First, go up in the tree and hook up heavy duty straps. (The red arrow points to the man in the tree.)
man in tree

Come down and make a cut with a beefy chain saw.
making the first cut

Then a huge crane picks that third of the tree up and lifts it over my fence to the middle of the road, where it’s quickly chewed up by a chipper.
first section up

Here’s the second cut.
making the second cut

And that section up in the air.
section section in the air

After a third cut and lift, all that’s left is the stump.
just a stump left

I was blown away by the fact that it took a grand total of 4 saw cuts to get that entire tree out of my yard. And by the fact that they CHIPPED IT ALL!
chipping the stump

I actually found that chipping to be sad. I know my old neighbors would have loved to have that maple for firewood. But they couldn’t come up to get it, and even if they could, transporting firewood across county lines is (I think still) illegal due to the Emerald Ash Borer. But still….what a waste.

Here’s another indication of the size of this tree; the stump is about 24″ in diameter.
stump, after

Anyway, after removing the tree in record time, they cut down & removed my big, old yews in about 5 minutes. Literally. I got a real kick out of the fact that they used one of those yews to sweep the street from leaf and branch debris.
yew sweeping

The view of the front of my house looks different enough – no yews and no maple very visible over the roof.
no more yews

But look how much different my backyard is!
light backyard

The increased amount of light in my studio, and even in the rooms next to it (bathroom and office) is quite notable. From starting work to packing up their equipment took — are you ready — 90 minutes! Totally amazing!

Next step: crew #2 comes to grind out the stumps and put topsoil and grass seed in the backyard. Then the happiest part: crew #3 comes to do the planting. I took out 1 tree and 3 shrubs and will be planting 3 trees and 4 shrubs. Granted, nothing that’s going in will be as big as what I took out, but it will all be good – for my house, my brain, and the earth. Plus I’ll be getting new garden areas to plant with perennials and annuals in the spring.

4 comments to BIG changes

  • Peg Cherre

    Thanks, Lynda, Alma, & Ellie. Some changes are easy, some are scary. This one was a bit scary, but I know I’ll be happy when it’s all done.

  • Ellie

    I love seeing all the changes you are making in the house, your yard, studio-weaving space.I’m looking forward to the changes (and plantings) yet to come. A work in progress!

  • Alma

    Oh, my goodness. They made it look like so much broccoli! Four cuts and it was done – who would have thought it possible. I love the part about using the yew to sweep the street!!

    We’ll be anxious to see the same pix after the plantings!!

  • And it will all grow for years to come. What a super idea to change that out. Looking forward to the pics of the new greenery. Amazing how quickly they did that job !~!

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