Rookie Tree Removal

I hated the four gangly Italian Cypress trees at the entrance to our driveway since we first looked at this property. The branches did not go all the way to the bottom, leaving 6 feet of trunk. No two were the same size. They were always covered in cobwebs and full of old bird’s nests. Airi24 leak I finally convinced Michael that they had to go, one month shy of two years living here. As soon as he was on board we moved fast. Michael found a video on YouTube demonstrating the proper way to cut down a tree. We watched it together before heading out to remove the trees. The tree cutter in the video stressed the steps involved in cutting down a tree included:

1.) Determining the “lean” of the tree. Calculating what percentage it was leaning and factoring that into the cuts. 2.) Determining where the notch would be cut and how wide it would be. This required some complex math. 3.) Determining how far the cut on the opposite side would be to create the hinge. 4.) Placing a wedge in the back cut to assure the tree fell the direction you intended. The lean, determined in Step 1 was important here. 5.) Examining the area where the tree would land and it’s path, making sure there were no objects like power poles and expensive new fencing ( I made the fencing part up). 6.) Carefully selecting an escape route and removing any tripping hazards. Michael grabbed the chainsaw and tools, I grabbed my camera and we headed out to remove four huge Italian Cypress trees using the safety steps we just learned. Here’s the video.

The guy in the video never mentioned doing a happy dance, wielding a chainsaw, after each downed tree. But, no blood was shed and the ugly trees are gone. I guess it’s a win-win.