In April , I did a post about 5 Lined Skinks. They were hanging out in the rotted part of my favorite tree. We didn’t realize it at the time, but they did us a big favor. Evidently their digging around for insects or for nesting, broke up a lot of the rotted wood. One day I noticed it had shifted a bit and started pulling it out. This is what it looked like in April.
This is what it looked like when I got done pulling the insides out.
The weakest part of the tree is the side towards our home…..so….we decided we should get it down before the hurricanes started coming through.
We called Ron Groskey. He came out in the evening and looked everything over. Bee Hives to the R…boat to the front….home to the L Only place to put it was over the low part of the septic mound. He felt he could to it without destroying anything…and would be back in a few days to do the job.
Monday afternoon Ron arrived with his dump truck. He spent awhile rechecking his plans….laying out the ropes and getting things ready.
First he had to get the big rope way up in the top of the tree. It took 2 tries to place the line over the limb he wanted. 
We couldn’t believe it. It looked impossible with all the small limbs in the way. When the weight came down he tied his heavy rope to it and pulled it over the limb…made a slip knot of some kind and ran the other end out into the woods…around a big cabbage palm and back to the bumper of his truck. He then pulled the rope taught…putting a lot of pressure on the tree top. This will help keep it going the direction he wants it to.
I made a video and edited out a lot of the trips he made up and down the ladder and a lot of the saw time to shorten it up….but it gives you an idea of how it was done. He was very precise in how each cut was made and double checked everything twice. I was surprised to see him climb up the ladder and take a tiny piece out of the notch so it was perfect. All his extra trips and knowledge sure made ( what looked to us like an impossible task…. ) look easy. Not knowing how much heart rot was in the tree made it even trickier.
We’ll give the tree a chance to put out some limbs and leaves. I love the base and root system. See the tree top with the dark green leaves at the very top of the stump? That tree snapped off during Hurricane Charlie, it wasn’t much taller than this one and it’s nicely leafed out. If it doesn’t…..well….more firewood.
Two days later…….. this….
Became this….
all the wood from the R of the 2 pieces standing on end are from the tree. I laid all the leafy tops along the edge of the woods and will use it for kindling once all the leaves have fallen off and its dried out. For now …the critters can use it as a “wildlife habitat”.
Jim will have to cut all the big ones in half before we split it. Our stove says 17” logs but 15” is easier to handle.
Would you believe ….we are in Florida?
If you are in Central Florida and need tree work done….give Ron a call. He is very good at what he does.
That is one amazing process! I'll bet it was hard to see that big beauty go. Looks like there's heart rot quite a ways up. This guy is good.
ReplyDeleteWe have a huge cedar tree which looks as if it has died with the drought this year. I am not looking forward to that coming down as it is surrounded by fences, wires, and buildings. They are going to have to work from the top and bring it down bit by bit. No case of felling it. Not sure what it is going to cost but I suspect it is going to be expensive fire wood!! Diane
ReplyDeleteOh, we had a big oak tree fall. My husband is cutting up the upper part for firewood. I'm calling around for someone to do the lower part--good for lumber.
ReplyDeleteYou were smart to take that tree down if it was close to the house. We took all our large ones down that were close and used the firewood for many years so the cost of hiring someone worked out for us.
Give the cedar to an artist or someone who turns wood. They would love to have it.
ReplyDelete