I actually stopped working on taking big limbs out of my front Maple when I felt unsafe on the ladder, at heights. It was most unlike me to not push on and “just get it done!”. I only go up about 15-16′ in the air at most, and the big guy that looks over my house required a good twenty five to thirty foot climb. That meant full wobbly extension on the ladder plus another almost ten feet in the tree, with a chainsaw. I saw three or four wasps, felt the wobble under my boots, and said you know what? Let’s come back to this another day when I can plan ahead and borrow or hire a much longer ladder. I know it has to come out of the tree itself in two or three foot sections to avoid creating the damage I’m looking to avoid from a storm or blizzard, or freezing rain accumulation. It’s no help if I cause the issue myself through malpractice or ignorance.
But, I got one full limb down and chopped into bits, and three more smaller ones off the bigg’un I’m looking to erase next. It’s an undertaking, so I’m going to need input, and possibly outside help of some sort. No matter. I safely chainsaws in a tree at heights and came away unscathed. I did have to screw two jostled boards back onto the garden gate, but that was a small price to pay. I figured it would happen, so I got the smallest possible chunk to drop there that I could. It wasn’t graceful but I got it done. So power line is clear, well clear. I never got within eight feet of it! Good for me.
I did manage to cut some dead branches out of the tree at the same time so that’s great. There is a lot going on with this tree, and I’m loathe to start hacking away at it too much because I don’t wish to kill the tree, not create more issues, or entry points for disease. It’s a fine line once I get to cutting. In truth I’m happy with what I’ve gotten done, and while I had hoped to do it all, that just isn’t feasible right this second. I could try again in September or October, or even next April. I’m trying to be proactive so if a storm does come we don’t get a big crushing limb onto the house that I’ve been toying with removing. Maybe I was cowardly by not following through, I don’t know. I’m alive to tell the tell, and to fight another day. Win column check!
My wife and kids have absconded to the cottage for the weekend so I have been walking the dog at the farm, visiting with extended family, and looking at the large range of flowers growing in the various plots and gardens.
That’s all for today. Yeah Friday w00t-w00t!
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