This big beast is coming down sometime this week...

HUGE old male Mulberry in SE corner of property,probably a century old or a bit more.One of the biggest ones I've seen in a non-rural area.

Growing up I liked the shade but its making me nervous now. As you can see its leaning right over my saw shed (and some part of it would no doubt also take out my 1 yr old green shed to the north that's not in the pics).Plus there's that issue with the power pole very close by & lines going through it to 5-6 different houses around me on other sides.....

low-mid 60's here last weekend,followed by 77 & sunshine last Monday.Later that night there was several severe thunderstorms over most of the State,at least a dozen confirmed tornadoes to my south & southwest.With wind gusts reported from 60 to 72 MPH in my county.


That was enough for me.Called my tree service buddy on Wednesday afternoon,Friday morning he came out & gave me an estimate - much less than I figured actually. They're gonna grind up everything wrist size or smaller,leave everything else here for me in manageable sizes to further process later in my spare time (like I have much of that ) & leave the main stem about 6-7 foot high afterwards so I can also cut it shorter eventually. Its a tight spot but those guys are very experienced with everything needed to do the job safely & quickly.I didn't even think about calling anyone else to give me a bid,Nick was the only one I wanted.

Havent found out the exact date yet,he's gonna let me know the day before so I can tell my Superintendent at work that I'll be taking the day off,staying home & helping where I can with this.Only missed 2 days work since late August,my employer is great & told me ''just let us know anytime you need some time off etc.''

Anyway,enough with the BS,here's this old monster.I'll have more pics later in week as the job gets started.

 

Wow, that old mulberry has sure out lived it's life expectancy. Way past it's prime.

 

Good decision to take it down. You can see the tree has a few defects in the trunk, not to mention the lean over the lines.

 

And the rest.....

 

I wouldn't want to think what that Monster would do if it came crashing down...Very wise call..Get it down..

 

Good call thistle.

 

That'll make the ole stove chooch for a while!

 

Ya done da rightist thang der partner. Dat's fo sho ha job fur da pros.

Man, that big boy should get you way ahead!

 

Some of the big saws will get put to use I bet.

 

Found out early this afternoon they'll start on it Wednesday morning early,probably just after sunrise,told my boss 15 minutes later I'll be taking the day off.He said no problem.

 

Neighbors to my SE (where that big garage is) had a tree service come in Sep 2012 & remove the ENTIRE south half of the tree,everything that was over garage & powerlines. But I got the wood,told the guys to toss everything over the fence for me,about 6-7 wheelbarrow loads .

That mustve weakened it further cause a Friday night in Aug 2014 Asplundh was back there walking around looking it over.Seen me nearby & said "Mid American energy said this is an emergency situation,this tree needs severe pruning immediately so the unbalanced condition wont jeopardize powerlines.

I explained I knew nothing of this,didnt request the work order.They brought their boom truck around,parked in my driveway & were there until almost 1230AM Saturday morning,cutting enough to balance it out.After getting what I wanted outta that huge brush pile - another 4-5 wheelbarrow loads - the remaining brush sat there for another SIX weeks.I had one helluva time getting them to haul it off.Finally after a few phone calls (none very pleasant I might add ) to various people at Asplundh & the utility they showed up & run the leftovers through their chipper....

 

Definitely good future choochin' material you have there.

You don't need to apologize for taking that tree down.

 

Sounds like a half-asplundh job they did a few years ago.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

They showed up at 9AM (I was up at 4 just like a normal workday haha),took about 45 minutes for lunch,were done around 4PM.They let me help out as part of the ground crew,dragging brush/limbs to their chipper.Though I sure didn't have to,its because I wanted most everything over 5 inches,I saved a handful of 3 inch stuff also.And it was easier for us all if I took what I wanted as it was dropped or lowered to the ground.

Had a blast today talking with Nick & his crew (damm I feel old,4 other guys I know none are over 30),Nick is 38 & he said ''If the young guys want to strap on their spikes,belt & start climbing,I let them because they can use the experience & its easier than me doing it now.... "

When they were at lunch I used my 750 & 20" bar to buck up some the bigger rounds from the tops/main stem.They left the biggest part around 14 ft high,it was tight quarters back there & they needed more drop zone.I don't mind cause I can think of a way to bring it down a little at a time once the rest of the mess is gone from around it.


Pics to follow in a day or so,moved some rounds,split a few more so I'm pretty well beat now.Still have to work next 2 days so cant be using all my energy on this tonight First thing tomorrow after work is finish moving the logs from neighbor's to here.They're cool with it but I don't want to have them laying around more than a couple days ya know....

 

Nice to have that done!

 

Took 51 pics yesterday,here's a few..... There was a 12" x 50 ft or so American Elm that was near my east fence,not far from the big Mulberry.Was a nuisance,had a dead limb or two,& hanging over in yard behind me & I knew it would need to be removed eventually.Since they were already set up close by, I asked Nick first thing "How much extra to take out that Elm also?" He said "Not very much,Jon " In the last pic here they're starting on it around 130PM