Those trees are on a side of a hill. It is going to be really interesting to see the tree service get their bucket truck close to the trees. They will be on the uphill slant in the yard. Sometimes I wish I had more flat ground.
I have the same issue. Hills and steeper hills. You can get relatively close to power lines if you know the voltage. Double or triple that if you feel unsafe, or if really unsafe best to hire pros. We have 345 KV yards in my plants and we are within 20 ft. Not for the nervous type, and not for the rookie cutter. Working with the live wire copter guys on a few projects has been an eye opener.
No power lines on that side of the house so that is not an issue. Two things I have going against me are my age (sneaking on up on 70) and I do not care for heights. Feet planted firmly on the ground is OK with me. Hiring local crew to do the work so keeping money in the local economy. I had them here a few years ago and I was pleased with their work.
I finally got a date to have those trees taken down. They will be here on Monday morning to drop the dead elms close to the house and polebarn. Pics will follow
Tree company showed up last Friday. We quickly found out the lawn was too soft to allow the truck to get close to the one tree I really wanted down and after climbing the tree they found a split forming at one of the lower crotches so trying to piece it down was a no-go. Safety first. Since they were there and all I wanted was for them to put the trees on the ground they started dropping trees that only needed a little help from some ropes. I will have to wait until the ground freezes this winter before they can get the tree labeled #1 dropped. With the nice weather we are having, it makes it somewhat pleasant to cut up the wood. Most of it is dead elm. Wife got a picture of a pileated woodpecker.
It might be almost ready to burn but it won't reach the stove for maybe 3 years. That is the downside of being on the multi year plan:stacke::stacke::stacke:
As long as the weather stays nice, I am hoping to get it all blocked and off the ground with the goal of getting it split next spring/summer. If some of it does rot, I have a couple dozen standing dead elm in my woods. I shouldn't be running out anytime soon
In the woods, generally I prefer dropping trees after the leaves are gone, for a couple reasons. First and foremost, sometimes a thick canopy of leaves can conceal a widowmaker. Second, by then any birds that may have been nesting in them have usually moved on. I enjoy watching birds almost as much as cutting trees. I agree with others though, I wouldn't drop it and then wait to cut it up - not on purpose anyway. I'd be worried about other trees or priorities that might further delay things, or in the case of trees, make a bigger mess. On the other hand, I wouldn't be in a hurry to drop it either. Things tend to go much more smoothly for me if I have a chance to look at it and think about it for a while.
I made the mistake a couple of years ago, of dropping a bunch of red pine and a couple soft maples in the woods right below my house. They're still sitting there, rotting. Always say I'm gonna get to them but never do. My advice would be not to drop anything unless you are fully prepared to buck it up, split it and stack it immediately. Otherwise you might as well let it rot. This weekend I'll be fighting with some huge white oak and hickory logs that dropped over two years ago, and the only reason I am bothering is because they are still solid. Elm will remain usable if left standing, but once it's on the ground it's not going to stay solid very long.
This is the one I had in mind. I don't know how long it was up there before I noticed it. I had unknowingly worked and driven under it several times that spring/summer. It was completely invisible with a full canopy of leaves.
Hadn't been in the woods at SisILs place since last year, until last Saturday. Took a walk and found a bunch more down Oak that weren't there on my last trip. Not sure I'll get to 'em this year though. Canopy is almost completely gone over there, so much easier to see stuff that might be hung up or widowy. Taking down dead trees is interesting, but I've not had a whole lot of experience doing it. Too much down stuff to get.
I have been working on cleaning up the trees that the tree service dropped for me. I have some of the tops taken care of and I was working on the trunks today. I ended up with 3 trailer loads from the wood cut today.[ Here are loads 1,2 and 3
