It was our major project of the year, and below is all that's now left of what was our biggest poolside Palm Tree.
Our 'Tree Surgeon' said it was the first Palm he'd cut down, and he was a bit apprehensive.
The exterior 'matting' could have, he thought, got tangled in his chainsaw blade, and he had no idea how hard, or soft, the actual wood would be. Nor did he know if the interior wood was heavy or light. All was new to him (and us), and he was worried.
As it happened the job went quite well. The exterior 'matting' didn't get tangled, and the wood itself proved to be quite solid and reasonably heavy. Having first cut all the branches, he cut sections of about 50 cms deep, and they came safely crashing down. We had to roll them to their resting place; they were that heavy.
Our man was a true professional. I had thought of doing the job myself; thank goodness I didn't.
Strangely, even though the tree was very tall, it doesn't seem to have left a void. One really would never have known it was missing. I don't even think we'll bother to replace it with anything.
Here I am currently waiting for someone to cut many branches of the century-old olive tree. There are so many branches about to fall in front of my front door. An olive tree is something exotic to others and sometimes a bit of trouble for those who live with it.
ReplyDeleteAt least the wood from an Olive tree is useful as firewood. The Palm is useless. I once stayed in a house in the South of France where they had an Olive tree that they claimed was about 2,000 years old.
DeleteWhat will you do with the wood? Perhaps build an exotic piece of garden furniture?
ReplyDeleteI think we'll simply leave it to rot down. I don't think it's any use for anything.
DeleteWe have quite a few palm specialists here, since the dreaded red palm weevil decimated almost all the palms along the coast. We had four removed about ten years ago, and I still find small pieces of the stumps. We didn't bother replacing them and just re-arranged the garden slightly with a load or two of gravel.
ReplyDeleteWe found some very large Hawk Moths living amongst the upper part of the tree. The man who cut it down thought that they might have been responsible for its demise. I shall look-up 'Red Palm Weevil' to see if is similar.
DeleteR.I.P. - the old palm tree. Never again to cast its ferny shadows upon your lithe and muscular frame as you plunge into the pool in your lime green speedos.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually very pleased to see it gone. I had visions of it falling down over Winter, and landing in the azure waters.
DeleteHave wondered a few times in my life what the inside of a palm tree might look like. Now I know and can tick it off the list. This white haired, northern dwelling New Englander thanks you.
ReplyDeleteI should have posted some more detailed photos. They are strange trees, especially with the 'woven matting' on the outside.
DeleteSo your next photo will be of the pool area without the palm tree. Good to hear it all went smoothly. It's a great pity though that you can't use it for firewod. Maybe lay a palm tree path? I seem to have heard of that .....somewhere
ReplyDeleteThe wood itself doesn't look as if it would split for firewood. It's quite fibrous.
DeleteIf I had seen the picture without you telling what it was, I doubt I would've guessed it correctly.
ReplyDeleteNor me. It's strange wood. We all learned something the day it was felled.
DeleteCan we see what it looks like now without the palm tree ? For me there was no contest ..... I'm not a lover of palm trees as they look really tatty !!! Re your walnut oil powt, I have been drinking a teaspoon of olive oil for the past six months and I feel that it's beneficial. I listened to an English doctor who described the benefits but she recommended olive oil that had been made from olives grown on volcanic soil ..... I buy Ancient Roots which is made from olives grown on the volcanic soil. She said to drink a tablespoon a day but I find that too much so drink a teaspoon ! I'm sure your walnut oil has the same benefits. XXXX
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure they're very similar. I too used to drink 'unrefined' Olive Oil, but I find it difficult to buy these day. I wonder what the volcanic soil does to the oil?
DeletePalm trees are very dense and heavy. Building in Florida for 15 years I have seen a lot of them taken down.
ReplyDeleteThey're certainly very heavy, we had to roll them to their resting place; far too heavy to carry.
DeleteIt's crazy hot here. Nearly 40 C. We're staying indoors.
ReplyDeleteRemoving the palm tree went well. Sometimes a bit of open space needs no planting. If it looks a bit vacant, there is always a nice potted plant to fill a void.
ReplyDeleteStrangely, you'd never know there is something missing. It all looks perfectly natural.
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