Sunday 12 July 2020

Dead Walnut Tree.



Yesterday was a good day. It was hot, sunny, and we got things done!

I'd been worried for some while. Bits had been dropping off it for months, and recently two very large branches came down with a real thump, after some strong wind.

A couple of pro 'lumberjacks' were working nearby so we asked if they could come and look at a job. They quoted a price and came the following day (yesterday). What an amazing couple of guys!

Considering that the tree was rotten, the smaller of the two shinned up to the top, and started cutting bit by bit with his tiny lightweight chainsaw. He seemed to have no fear.


You can't see him too well in the top picture, so here he is in close-up, holding on with one hand, whilst sawing with the other. Everything fell exactly where they wanted, nothing broken, no wires down.


This is the finished pile. It doesn't look much, but it'll probably keep us going through much of this coming winter.

It's such a relief to have the tree down.... I shall sleep again at night.


39 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. They were wonderful, and left everything tidy too.

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  2. I need a similar work here.

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  3. That was the biggest walnut tree I've ever seen. A pity it had to come down but you found the right people alright and now have a nice stack of wood.
    We have our stack grapefruit wood. Somehow I think yours will burn better

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    1. Our Walnut trees here are huge, they may be a different variety to yours. Burning Grapefruit wood on your fire sounds very exotic.

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  4. This is a blast from the past. Skilled workers unencumbered by kilos of safety gear. It is a grand sight.

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    1. He's a rustic little chap; I think he hails from Portugal. Like a rat up a drainpipe; it was difficult to get him down.

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  5. We often have to have trees down plus the height of the hedges lowered. We use a local firm who are superb. They do use ropes and all the safety gear, but with their little chainsaws are still quite fearless. A team of 4 or 5 come for the day, take the wood away, shred the rest, and then use a leaf blower and rake. They are immaculate. These people are out there!

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    1. I was so impressed by these two, they obviously really enjoyed their work and were laughing a lot. They were here for under two hours, and were superb.

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  6. Walnut trees are great in many ways: the wonderful nuts, their shade and smell driving away insects.
    In Baden-Württemberg they anxiously put a grandmother under their walnut trees - she had to look out if someone came to steal them, walnuts bringing in good money.
    So it is hard to loose such a tree, but safety first.
    Will you plant a new one (for the next generation - as far as I know they grow very slowly?)

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    1. I have two other, smaller, trees that are very productive. People often don't bother to collect their Walnuts in Autumn; preferring to spend their time on the Chestnuts. I drink a teaspoon of Walnut Oil every morning.

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  7. What a good job done. Walnut trees get so big. Our neighbours opposite have one in their large front garden and it fills the whole space. Last year they got someone in to chop it back and this year it is bigger than ever and you wouldn't know it had been chopped. They say that squirrels bury the nuts in their back garden and new trees pop up everywhere which they have to pull out.

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    1. Our nearby woods are littered with small Walnut trees because of the Squirrels. If you want to replace a tree, or plant an orchard, you just go to the woods!

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  8. Was it your only walnut tree Cro? We had two at the farm and they always had plenty of walnuts but they never seemed to develop properly. We always felt we were perhaps too far North.

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    1. I have others that give us plenty of nuts, but there are more in the woods, etc, that also provide plenty. Mostly the nuts just get left where they drop.

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  9. Always good to get a job done without a lot of fuss.

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    1. That's exactly how it was. Efficient, correct, no fuss. And nice guys too.

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  10. I cannot watch anyone working at height
    I feel physically sick when I do
    I blame the towering inferno

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    1. There were 5 of us watching from a reasonable distance. We all clapped and cheered when large branches came down. It was great fun.

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  11. The right step to cut the dead tree trunks. If it's not cut it will be dangerous, fall on people.

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    1. That's why we cut it... too dangerous for passers by.

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  12. Tree cutters with muscles. Hmmm.

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  13. It is hard to lose a tree, but it is best not to have to deal with the danger and damage they could impose.


    The winds have been bad here this summer and trees and branch’s coming down is a bi-weekly event. The good news is that it is giving work to many people. The bad news is that I am writing a lot of checks.

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    1. It was rotten right down to the base, it would have fallen down in another bad storm. We feel more relaxed now.

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  14. That photo of him up there with his saw made me cringe. I had to close my eyes.

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    1. It's a good thing HE didn't. He was fearless, and climbed to the top almost as soon as he'd arrived.

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  15. Scary and it doesn’t look like he’s attached to anything !!! ‘ Elf and safety ‘ might have something to say about that. Our tree guy always takes every precaution. His brother-in-law who is also a tree surgeon, fell and is now paralysed. Great to get it sorted and more firewood for you . XXXX

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    1. No, no safety ropes or net. He just climbed up, started his chainsaw, and got to work. Amazing.

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  16. That's a nice pile of firewood too. We always found the French didn't care too much about elf and safety regulations.

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    1. He wore ear protectors, but that was all. No hard hat even.

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  17. I said the same heartfelt goodbye to some way past their prime trees at my old house.

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    1. This one's day had come and gone; way past its time.

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  18. There's one older maple tree that's on my neighbour's property but it drapes over the line to mine. It's dying and has already lost one of the three trunks. The second one lost a large branch earlier this year. And it's very close to the road.

    The neighbour moved away several years ago, after suffering a stroke, and his son has come up every so often. I met with the caretakers yesterday--he had recently employed them to keep an eye on things as he's not able to get here as much as he'd like--and i showed them the tree.

    If it falls, it'll fall either into the roadway or on my barn. They said they'd talk to the son and see if they can get it removed. I told them i had called the town about it, as i felt it could be a safety hazard, but no one came out to look at it.

    I don't want it to be cut down before its time, but I suspect a good storm could have it topple over.

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  19. That was one massive tree! I wouldn't have been able to watch the high-wire act myself, but would come over later to marvel at your pile of firewood!

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