Yard

The bad news is that I had to have some landscaping cut down earlier this month.  Dead trees, dead shrubs, etc.  There was a dead tree too large for me to handle and remove, so I decided to have some other problems removed at the same time.  Used to look like this...

Those are all gone now...  Drought and windstorms.

The good news is that I can re-landscape the front yard.  Sometimes, it is good to have changes.  Choosing new things to plant will be fun.  They will be more heat and drought tolerant.  I also plan to reduce the lawn area.  I have a mulching mower, so lawn-clippings just stay on the soil a decay.  But grass wants what grass is - itself, so I don't fertilize it madly like some people do.  I give it a "bit" of organic slow-release nitrogen (corn gluten) every couple of years.  Well, some nitrogen escapes over time and the grass needs some replacement.

The mulching mower also shreds the fallen tree leaves.  That adds some bulk to the soil.  When I moved here 36 years ago, the soil would crack open like a dried-up river bed.  After all those years of leaving the grass and leaf clippings in place, the soil is softer, more fertile, and the grass doesn't even go dormant in the Summer.

But a large clear lawn is not my goal.  Sure, I want what there is to be healthy, but I don't need so much of it.  Every few years, I tend to add more islands of flowerbeds and a few shrubs (framed to make mowing easier).  I have to build 3 new ones now where the dead shrubs used to be.

Ideally, the entire front yards would go from "framed islands" to the whole thing with paths.  But I'm getting older gradually (is there any other way?) and maintenance becomes harder.  Well, wherever there are framed beds, I don't have to mow there.  And if I keep paper covered with mulch deep enough in the frames, I don't have to weed there either.  

So I guess I am planning how to make my future (less active) life easier.  Eventually, I won't even need a riding mower.  The self-propelled electric one will do all that it required.  My next car will be all-electric too.  Eventually, I will just have a landscaped yard with paths among the trees, islands, and shrubs.  

An Outstanding Day

This all happened yesterday, but it seemed too late to post...  

It didn't start as an outstanding day.  I had a tree removal service scheduled to arrive 8:30-9am.  Their office called at 9am  to say they had to finish a big job from yesterday and would arrive 11am-Noon.  Well, they knew that yesterday, and they could have let me know.  I would have liked to have slept later.

And they didn't show up then, either.  But just as I was about to call (expecting a cancellation), I saw a car pull into the driveway.  OK.  I figured that was the boss arriving before the crew.  Except a lady got out carrying 2 large shopping bags.  That seemed odd.

She asked "tree service"?  I could smell food.  After a few questions, I figured out that she was delivering food for the tree service crew yet to arrive.  Well, it was lunchtime and it had been paid for.  We both laughed when we realized the confusion.  I put the bags inside the door and she left.  

The tree service boss and crew arrived 5 minutes later and were glad I had the food waiting.  The ate fast outside.  They weren't on my clock so I didn't mind so long as they were here to do the work.  Everything went better and better as the afternoon progressed.  

First, they tackled the 2 dead trees.  The small one was gone before I could even take a picture.  Chainsaw, 2 minutes, and no more tree.  A 3' chainsaw goes through a 4" dead tree like a hot knife through butter!  Then they attacked the big dead tree and a 6" one next to the fence.

The crew has a dedicated "climber".  He does all the limb-work.  It was a marvel to watch!  He limbs the tree from the bottom up, leaving 3" stumps to serve as ladder stairs.  Then he goes back down cutting about 12' of the top as he goes. 

There are many jobs I just would never try.  That is one of them!  Those guys are crazy.  This is not my first time having a tree removed, and most of them have been larger.  One previous guy hung by his knees over a branch (unroped) while waiting for the rest of the crew to remove the limbs on the ground.  

Here's a pic of the crew removing cut limbs.   

Eventually, the trunk was ready to be cut off and ground level.  Boss does the big chainsaw work, always.

That's when things went from good to great!  

The male neighbor pulled into his driveway, jumped out of his car, and approached me.  I was worried he suspected I was going to have the roots (in my yard) of the tree in his yard grinded out, and was upset about it.  I had a copy of the County regulations in my back pocket (quoting a State court decision that said my rights to remove offending tree roots (even from a neighbors tree) were essentially unrestricted.

We got off to an awkward start when they moved in a couple years ago.  The lady there nearly burned down  my fence trying to burn tree-debris (I saw the smoke and stopped her) and the guy was weed-whacking 10' inside my yard).  Not that I have asked, but it seems they are "separated but cooperative".  So I was prepared for a complaint.

Nothing of the sort!  He waved and I approached.  Turns out that he had been wanting to get rid of that tree between our houses for a while and wondered what a tree service company might charge.  I made a quick pitch to him about 1) the "unfortunate unsuitabilty" of a maple tree (planted by a previous resident) next to a house.  2) That I had already done cost comparisons.  3) They were doing a great and professional job.

So I waved the crew boss over to talk business.  It went perfectly!   They agreed on a price on the spot and since the crew was already there, they could do it RIGHT THEN (after my job was completed of course).

 But as I say, my job had to be completed first.  And there are pics...  But involve the neighbor's tree.  They completed the work in my yard wonderfully.  By the time they were done, they had cleaned my yard so carefully that you could hardly find woodchips.  The previous tree service also did outstanding work, so now I have 2 I wouldn't hesitate to call.

So, on to the last pics...

The crew removing the neighbor's tree...

And it took some work!  They had to rope every large limb to avoid hitting either house and some of my shrubbery.  They knew how to rope and cut every single limb of the multi-trunked maple so that it swung carefully to the ground touching nothing!

There were times when a limb started falling I cringed watching it swing around at the start.  But every single time, it landed in the rather small "safe" area.  Yes, I know they do that  every day, but I still was amazed they never got it wrong.  Even experts can miscalculate.

This picture shows the branch-grinder machine and half the truck the ground chippings go into.  If you look carefully, you can see the chips shooting out into the truck.  The machine actually pulls the limbs into the grinder and shooting into the truck through the curved chute.  It is amazing how much of a couple of large trees fit in there when chipped.

And here is where things get mixed a bit.  I took a pic of the overgrown junk wild shrubs a few weeks ago (as "before" pics).  

Removing them was part of the tree work.  The brown spot in the foreground (2nd pic above)is what is left of one now.  And in the picture of the untouched neighbor's tree (way above) you wouldn't have been able to see the garage door.  I am thrilled about that too.

And finally, the last of the neighbor's tree was cut down.  The original tree way a single-trunked tree and was cut down.  It returned with a vengeance, growing 5 trunks 30' tall in just 15-20 years!

Boss went at the remaining trunks with the wicked 3' chainsaw.  Took at least 20 minutes.  

And even then, they had this huge chunk of enjoined trunks to cut apart, but they finally ended up with this...  You can see the big roots extending from it.

Aside from just knowing how to cut down trees professionally, those guys are incredible strong.  The tree trunk pieces are too big for the grinder machine.  So they carry them to a separate trailer to be delivered to (I assume) "some god-awful huge grinder elsewhere".  There are things I do not know.  

The job is not actually done yet.  The stumps and roots still have to be grinded out.  I have underground cables here and I know where they are through previous experience.  But legally (and for insurance) you have to have "Miss Utility" come out and paint lines on the lawn over them.  

It is the contractor's responsibility, but they didn't realize utilities might be involved in the 2 stumps near the street.  I'm glad I asked them about that.   The tree service guys will return for the stumps and root grinding after the utility lines are painted.  The neighbor is (apparently) not sure if he wants to pay for having his own stumps ground down.

I'm not telling him or the tree service yet, but if the neighbor chooses not to pay for that stump grinding, I will offer to.  That tree was cut down once before (and came back) and I want to make sure it doesn't a 2nd time.  

And there is added benefit to getting the neighbor's tree cut down (as we both seem to have wanted to happen).  I've mentioned some early awkward events regarding them.  This tree-cutting was somewhat of a shared event and gives us a successful common experience.  That is something to build on.

Tree Work

I have some tree work needed.  There is a large dead beech tree, a small dead tree, a stump of a small tree that blew over weeks ago, a "cluster of volunteers" near the front door, a burning bush shrub that has gotten  smothered by "volunteers", a non-fruiting wild cherry tree right against the fence, and surface tree roots from a neighbor's silver maple (which should have never been planted between our houses) which are reaching my house foundation.

The last few years have been hard on trees here (and elsewhere too).  Some of the work I could do myself with a working chain saw.  But I can't keep a gas one working, and for some reason, I can't get the chain on the electric one properly tightened and that makes it dangerous.  

So since the large dead beech needed professional removal anyway, I called 3 contractors for quotes.  All 3 have done some work here before.  Two visited.  

One gave the best price and has equipment that will best control the 2 tree-falls (I have 2 small ornamental trees that are nearby), but won't grind out the neighbor's tree roots on my property closer than 10' to the property line, but will use their cherry-picker machine to get up high enough to remove the branches overhanging my house.  They say that while it is legal for me to remove the roots right to the property line, they get too much trouble from neighbors and they avoid it.

The other offerred a bid $300 more and agrees to grind out the neighbor's tree roots right to the property line but can't cut down over-hanging limbs because they are "climbers" (no cherry-picker equipment) and can't climb the neighbor's tree.

Both agree to grind out all the stumps of the felled trees and "volunteer" patches and remove all debris.  Both offer good prices, $1800 and $2100.  I expected it to be $2500-3000, so no complaints there about either bid.  It is the slight differences in the work they can do that is making me hesitate to choose.  I'll be thinking about that this weekend.

It really comes down to that neighbor's tree roots.  I don't have the best relationship with that neighbor.  They are the ones who:

1.  Tried to burn down my fence.  Ok, they weren't actually trying, but when they first moved in 2 years ago, they piled dead tree branches next to my wood fence and under low-hanging dry trees and started burning them without even a hose that could reach the spot.  I had to demand they put it out.  When the woman there ignored me at first, I said I would call the Fire Department.  I offerred to put it out with my garden hose.  She and a daughter hauled pails of water from a wading pool to quench the flames.  I stayed there (hose-ready) for a while.

2.  A month later, a guy there (I think it is a divorce when the ex visited every couple weeks to help) was thrashing around 10' inside my yard with a gas-power metal-bladed trimmer to cut away grass next to a tree of mine.  I ran out to tell him to stop.  He wouldn't turn off the gas-trimmer so I had to raise my voice to be heard.  Finally he turned it off and then complained I was yelling at him.  

He said he didn't know where the property line was.  So I pointed out that the backyard fence offerred a clear line through the front yard, but mostly I just pointed out where it was.  I was initially angry, but I calm down pretty fast.  He stopped.  Maybe I should plant a row of shrubs.  

BTW, the ornamental tree the guy was attacking for the tallish grass growing close to it with the gas whacker died the next Summer.  I can't say he caused it, but I can't say he didn't either.  There were shallow cuts in the bark.

So I don't have the best relationship with them.  I haven't done anything to bother them, but some people just count up disagreements without considering who is actually to blame.  And if they needed some help, I would gladly give it.

  -------

Which returns us to the neighbor's tree.  Some limbs are over-hanging my house.  The roots are threatening my foundation and are above lawn level.  I checked my County regulations and I have a clear right to remove both limbs and roots.  Mowing the grass over them is like driving over railroad ties.

But I think they are going to go ape-shit when I do either.  I suppose I should print out the County regulation on that to hand to them when they object.

Ahh, the joys of neighbors...

Dead Trees, Part 1

I have too many of them, and I gained a new one yesterday.  I'll explain.  About 10 years ago, lightning knocked off the top 1/3 of a huge sweetgum tree in the neighbor's yard.  Being downwind, it fell into mine.  That made it my problem.  The rain that followed caused a river birch (a real junk tree) that was already leaning over to fall on my toolshed.  

My friends kid me about "over-building things".  Well, the shed withstood the tree falling on it!  But I had to get a tree removal company in to cut up and remove both.  I also had them remove 2 other river birches that were tall enough to shade my garden.

Well, the damaged sweetgum trunk eventually rotted and the middle 1/3 fell over in Fall 2020.  I expected to cut it up with a chain saw in better weather the next Spring.  But then I fell off the extension ladder in January 2021, so I sure wasn't doing any hard work for 6 months.  And I still don't really feel healed (and suppose I never quite will again).  I may indulge myself about all the glories of aging in a future post, but not today.

There is a beech tree in the front yard.  It died 2 years ago.  I have (had) golden rain trees on each side of the driveway near the street.

That's not mine, but a good picture of one.   They get about 15' tall.  Mine were 12'.  One died the same time as the beech tree (it was a dry year for my area) and I saw other dead trees in the neighborhood later.

So the weather forecast Sunday night was for storms with strong winds Monday.  Earlier yesterday, the forecast was for localized near-hurricane-strength winds, heavy rain, hail, and possibly small tornados.  It is kind of early in the year for that, but climate change is real and stronger weather is becoming routine earlier and later than usual.

When the winds started, I was surprised at the violence of the wind on the trees.  It wasn't just one direction.  It swirled, beating them back and forth.  Mature trees bent.  Smaller ones whipped around like shrubs.  It wasn't a tornado, but it was sure damn close.  Hail fell.  Pea-sized at first (which is fun to watch when inside) but it grew to grape-sized and I worried about my lettuce on the deck.

I watched the dead beech tree carefully.  It had partially died many years ago, but sent up some new tops.  None very heavy though.  I had estimated its height and measured to the house.  The remaining heavy trunk would (probably) not quite reach the house, but even 3" branches can damage a roof.

The beech remains standing.  But I didn't realize at first that the surviving golden rain tree had been blown over.  Right across the driveway, of course.  The dead one didn't get blown over; no leaves for the wind to push on...

The storm was brief, so I went out to look at it about 5 pm.  Too heavy for me to drag off the driveway.  I have 2 chain saws.  I can't keep the serious gas one adjusted enough to work (2 stroke gas engines drive me crazy), so I have a small electric one.  I tried to cut it apart, but the blade was too dull.  I have a replacement blade, but didn't really want to mess with it right them.  I figured I would do that later today.

That's when my wonderful neighbors across the street came to my assistance!  More on that tomorrow...

Dead Trees

Last year was hard on trees here.  Very dry.  And I only say that about MY local conditions.  It has been horribly drier in other places.  But I'm here and not there.  So I have my only experience "here".

Many years ago, I planted Golden Rain trees on either side of the driveway near the street.  I like "specimen" trees, small and interesting.  Golden Rain produces ping-pong-ball-sized seed packets in July that turn deep yellow as they mature.  The seeds never seem to grow, so I assume they are sterile hybrids.  And that is good; I don't want invasive plants.  But they ARE interesting in the middle of Summer (I have some other trees and shrubs for Spring and Fall color).

But, as I said, last year was harsh.  One is completely dead (it sent up one shoot from the trunk, but it didn't last long). 

 The other is half dead.  IT looks fine from the house, but dead from the street.  I'm not an arborist, but I have "enough" understanding of pruning small trees to remove the deadwood properly (undercut, then downward cut, then allow 1/2" "branch collar cut" for healing.

The surviving tree will look unbalanced for a few years, but the tree will send out new branches and I know how to direct them slightly if necessary.  

I also lost a beech tree.  I was slightly fooled at first, because there were vines growing on it and the vine leaves made it look like the tree was recovering.  When I pruned the vines at ground level, and THEY died, the sad truth was obvious.  

The tree was here when I moved in 35 years ago.  If you look closely, you will see that the top was literally "trunkated" but new branches arose to create a new canopy.  The tree can't very well have died of last year's drought; it is just a few feet from a drainage easement and there is "some" water flowing from the neighborhood above year-round.  That itself is actually amazing.  No matter how dry it gets, water flows...  I have no idea how old the beech tree was.  Maybe it just lived its full life.  But it sure had access to water!

Ground conditions can be strange.  When I first moved here, the lawn would get so dry that the soil would crack open.  I used to water the lawn, not realizing that it was natural for the grasses in my area to go dormant and grown in the hot days of July and August.  I've stopped doing that (waste of water and fertilizer to force the lawn to grow).

Instead, I started leaving the grass-clippings on the lawn and laid down corn gluten just twice a year (both a natural fertilizer and a weed suppressant).  I also bought a soil aerator I could drag behind the riding mower.  It brought up plugs of soil to the surface, allowed air and decaying grass in, and over the years, the soil greatly improved.  It hasn't cracked in a decade.  And the tall fescue grass stays green most Summers.  

A lawn-care company rep came by a few weeks ago.  I don't ever engage the services of "door-knockers", but I had time and was curious.  So we sat on the front step while he pointed out that I had a few weeds and a lot of clover in my lawn and his company could fix that.  I mentioned that I was an organic yardkeeper.  He said "we can improve your lawn".

My immediate thought was "welcome to my web, said the spider to the fly"...

So I asked him why my clover was so bad.  He said "it's not grass".  I pointed out that clover has deep roots and brings nutrients back up to the grassroot level, that it was pleasantly green, that it didn't need fertilizing, and that bees like clover blossoms.  

He got an annoyed look and decided he should move on to talk to other neighbors.  I LOVE doing stuff like that...