I did make time yesterday for some fun work. Dumped a dead standing red elm and got it home. Some of the main trunk stayed in the woods. It was punky and infested with black ants. Probably go back next week and get it for the far pit after the ants find a new home.
Even with an endless supply of hedge and both species of locust, red elm is one of my favorites! Those big black carpenter ants are the prefered food of my favorite bird, the pileated woodpecker.
Love the red elm too. Even better when it can dry on the stump. You know as well as I do how wet and heavy elm is when it is cut live. As for the ants and the wood peckers, I could see where the birds had been at the trunk of this tree right where it had the ant infestation.
Liked them too until 1 left his tree Saturday morning and started on metal roof of barn.. sounded like a jackhammer.. I checked for insects besides a few bees none....
We have a hairy woodpecker that "drills" on an old metal grain bin across the creek, I know what you mean about the sound. I tell my wife he is going to mushroom his bill over like the back of a cheap wedge.
