Change

It is a little bit strange at Pine Ridge today. Every time I look over towards the flower bed with the Crabapple trees in it I feel a little startled. Something has changed, and I am still adjusting.

Basically, some Balsam Firs which had died over the winter have been removed. It really looks much better, but I am still getting used to seeing much further, in fact, having a view!

The adventure started very early in the morning when a large crane truck arrived.

In the next picture you can see the dead trees. The men are setting up the truck, making sure it is level and well supported to the sides.

Here the first of the dead trees, cut out of the Sampler Garden, is being lifted over the large Maple and over to behind the Crabapple Garden. It looks small here, but it's deceptive, that tree was a good 15" at the base.

 I watched as they attached the top of each dead Balsam to the crane, then cut it at the bottom, and then maneuvered it into the pile behind the cedar hedge. The men communicated over their headsets and worked as a perfect team. They got all the dead Balsams down and hidden in no time. Then they moved the truck back up the driveway to work on the more serious dead tree problem. I would have left the Balsams (although I hated the way they looked) but this large dead White Pine was less that 15' from my hydro pole. If it went over and took the pole down, it would be very expensive. Hence the tree service and the crane. Here you can see the dead Pine - it is the front stem of the two. The back one is still healthy. (Hydro, by prior arrangement, had turned the power off.)

 This next image shows you both how big that Pine really is, and how wild and daring the tree cutter is! What you can barely see is his chainsaw - he has it attached to his belt. The chainsaw as belt accessory!

 At the top, he attached the crane to the tree using some sort of cable arrangement. Then he lowered himself down to where he was planning his first cut, basically rappelling down a good 30'. Once where he wanted to be, he found some branches he could stand on, and attached himself to the trunk with a safety belt. Then he cut the trunk, reaching that chainsaw up above his head! The crane lifted the cut top away from him and over to the side where we had agreed to put the wood. You can see the tree top moving here:

 It took three sections to get the whole tree down. Yes, that line at the top of the picture is my hydro line.

 Then he cut the branches off for me because while I can stack them, I can't cut them! Some of the branches are 6" or more in diameter. Now I am known for taking down trees with my secateurs, but that wasn't an option here. And training the resident beavers would take too long.

Thank you, Gardiner Tree Service! You guys were great!

Now I just have to get used to the new 'look' at Pine Ridge.