Covid Journal, Day 62: How the Mighty Are Fallen

57 this morning, might be a pretty day, with a few thundershowers. Yesterday got pretty warm, so I had the ceiling fans on in the house.

We had a surprise the other day. There was a large oak tree that we noticed was leaning about a month ago. I was keeping an eye on it, and we discussed when would be a good time to cut it down. Could we wait until fall, when the garden was done?

Then Wednesday morning I saw that the tree had leaned a lot more, and there was no question about when to drop it--it had to be soon. So Larry took down the electric fence and moved a planter or two. We hoped it would fall right between two bushes, and miss my flowerbed. We could also see that the tree was most likely fall on the little damson tree.

Larry had everything ready Wednesday afternoon. That evening, Larry was sitting on the porch, thinking about his plan of attack on the tree, when the tree started to move--and in less than a minute it was on the ground.

So no effort required on our part, and that was a relief, because you never know what might happen when cutting a tree like this--it could be hollow, and split while you are cutting, which is not a good situation, or it could kick off the stump, also not good. While it looks like the tree fell close to our van, it's actually a good thirty feet away.

Now comes the work. Larry began cutting away the top branches and hauling them off yesterday. Since our driveway is a circle we still have access so he didn't have to worry about that. It's not like we're going anywhere anyway. His main goal right now is to get it out of the garden so he can put the electric fence back up. Then begin cutting it off the driveway.

After Day 1's cutting:

Larry likes his new saw (bought with ebay earnings last month). It's a beast, bigger than his last chainsaw, but given the size of the trees that need to be cut, it's what he needs.

He had a lot of help.

This is one of the world's most curious cats, I swear. Whatever we're doing, he wants in on it.

The wagon full and ready to haul off the third load of trimmings.

Who can take pictures when this face keeps getting in the way?

Clyde found the branches a nice scratching station. He's such a pest! No matter what we're doing, he's always right there to see what's up. We love this old boy. He's 11 years old but still has plenty of kitten in him.

I told the tree how much I appreciate that it fell in the best possible place. It did take out part of the damson tree, and although it went between the spirea bushes they got a little beat up too. But the damson and the bushes can grow back. And the tree is down safely, so all is well.

Living in the country--you never know what to expect. I think this tree, like many others that have fallen recently, was a victim of the 2003 ice storm that severely damaged so many trees here. That, and the heavy rains and high winds we've experienced for months, have taken their toll on our forest.

Larry's cutting again today.


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