Arborist

This Saturday we undertook a project that was only marginally on the radar; getting our Cottonwood tree trimmed.

Already this Spring windy weather has caused several larger dead branches to launch out of the Cottonwood and onto the roof. So when a tree guy was working on our neighbor’s trees, Pam approached him to ask how much it would cost to remove a dead snag at the top of the Cottonwood and trim back some of the branches that extended over our roof. The guy, whose name is Charlie, came over and took a look and gave us a quote I thought was very competitive (factoring in we would handle the clean-up).

On Saturday morning I fired up the chipper to help with this effort. Other than having to repair one electrical connector the chipper appears to have wintered just fine. I had the battery in the garage and had put it on a charger from time to time. After the minor repair on the chipper the engine fired up OK.

Around 9:00 a.m. Charlie showed up with his truck and equipment and proceeded to start the trim work. Sadly the tree was in worse shape than we had suspected as it is suffering from a fungus unique to Cottonwood trees. Charlie cut the tree back pretty severely to find non-affected wood. We hope the tree can survive this surgery and come back with more green in the next few years. This hope is not merely aesthetic – that tree provides major shade for the front of the mobile home and without that shade our energy costs will soar.

Charlie in tree while Jerry watches from the ground. (Photo by Pam.)

Branches to clean up. (Photo by Pam.)

Finishing chipping the branches

The chips  became mulch for a corner of the property (near the Mary Lynn Memorial Garden) as well as a muddy area beside where the RV trailer is currently parked. Wood big enough to salvage as firewood was stacked near the back deck and will be added to the firewood total next fall.

Wood chips became mulch

While not a project we really had “on the books,” it’s satisfying to have this particular job done. We’ll miss the canopy and shade this summer for sure. (But repairing a tree-damaged roof would not have been fun either.) Charlie cut out the hollow part where birds had nested in the past so a few birds will miss the tree as well.

Tree after trimming looks pretty bare!

It was an energetic way to begin the weekend. Neither of us is used to hours of continuous clean-up activity so there were a few aches when we got up Sunday morning. Good thing there were no big plans for Sunday!

Note: Due to scheduling conflicts there will be no posts for the next few weeks.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Fields and the kids will all tell you I love to trim trees, sometimes drastically.  But the amount that had to be cut off that Cottonwood about made me sick.  Just as with any surgery, the “patient” will either survive or die.  Several other Cottonwoods that had been planted in the neighborhood at the same time as ours have already succumbed to the disease. Bummer.

A kitten died this week, a little orange and white male from the second litter born this month.  That leaves the first-time mother with only one kitten – baby Solette, a female black and white. Solette seems to be holding her own at present. All four kittens (and mom) from the first litter are doing fine.

Happy Trails.