Time to Trim the Trees

There have been some windy days in this part of the state which result in dead tree branches on our lawn and driveway. Sunday afternoon, a large live branch landed in the middle of the street. That was the beginning of an interesting afternoon.

A tree trimming service noticed the large branch and stopped at the house to offer their services. He looked at the two large 60 year-old silver maples and shared what needed to be done and gave a quote. I picked my jaw up off the sidewalk, looked at Hubby, and said, "Whatever." I agreed the trees needed a good trimming and no, Hubby should not be climbing trees with a ladder. (Please look at the 2012 post before you read further.)

Hubby and I talked about the job, expecting them to be back later in the week, ready to work, and with an increased price. We had a plan in place. Within an hour, three trucks and a crew of 6 men and 1 child were in the driveway, talking and pointing to the limbs of the trees. A short discussion between the crew and Hubby was followed with a written proposal with said cost and their licenses. It was about 3:00 PM and they were ready to work.

Hubby and I moved the lawn chairs to the front; I grabbed the camera, and we were entertained for the next 4 hours. Once I realized HOW they were going to trim the trees, I wanted to document any possible mishaps. I also wanted to watch the process. It was a beautiful afternoon. We had nothing else to do that was more important.

This crew had a tree climber

A well-equipped, experienced tree climber

A young, agile tree climber

The branches started falling

I tried to show how 'low' the branches were BEFORE

they started

Notice how much of the neighbor's pine tree is visible

Some of the branches were cut from the ground

Notice the growing pile in the corner of the house 

& garage

 A rope was secured to one branch

The tree climber shimmied on the underside of

the branch to make the first cut to bring it down

3 guys held onto the rope to bring it in the right direction

 No more branches hanging over the house or garage

At one point the shredder/chopper was plugged

by one of the green-wood logs

He climbed in to clean it out

The shredder/chopper/mulcher was busy

Branches from one tree filled the wagon half-full

Then it was time to trim the second tree

I had not watched him climb the first tree

Where is Waldo?

We figured he was 40 feet up in the tree

Again, he removed the dead branches

and trimmed the live ones hanging over the house

and the neighbor's garage

Four hours later...

This isn't the EXACT same spot as a previous photo,

but you do get the idea of how much was trimmed.

We have noticed the difference in the last two windy days...

less dropped branches & leaves

more sunlight in the house

a more open feeling when looking out the windows

Four guys did all the work

They earned every penny...well, dollar they charged

It was an interesting and mishap-free afternoon

And we had front-row seats to the 

entertainment on a beautiful

summer afternoon