Hounds Supervise Tree Company

I had called back in November to have the top rated tree company in the area take down the Bradford Pear tree too close to the house before storms would blow heavy limbs on my house. It had been cut before from damage in the middle of the tree prior to me buying the house. They are so busy they said they could not get to me until February or March. One of the crew told me today when I ask, they work 50 hour weeks through the winter. As you see when the large truck with the bucket pulled into the driveway, Henry and Watson were ready to supervise from the back and side yard fence.

You can see from some of the limbs the tree had been trimmed way back but I have no idea how long ago that was. The Bradford Pear tree is a fast grower. With the long pole tree limb trimmer I had cut back the smaller limbs that were hanging over the house in front and over the drive near the garage door, in November. Their website said they would not only cut, trim or remove the tree but would grind the stump if I wanted and clean up afterwards. They did all of that plus more.

The crew of four men each had a specific job. As you probably already know, they cleaned as the went. After about half the tree had been cut, that filled up one truck with mulch from the tree limbs. 

The guy in the bucket would cut most of those limbs one handed and with his other hand would position the limb to drop in a certain spot in my yard. About the time the limb would hit the ground there were two guys hauling the limbs away by hand and their machine.

Holding the camera level, then standing looking at the cut tree without the camera it sure looked like half that tree was leaning toward my house. Remember in the past, limbs that same size in diameter that you see was cut in the center of the tree from previous damage. That would not be the only surprise I would find.

They raked the yard clean as they continued to cut the tree. 

With one hand he would cut the limb and the other hand he would drop the limb into the yard without hitting the house. I am still surprised to see in this photo just how much that tree grew toward the house.

That corner of the yard was going to look pretty naked after this tree was gone. Every nearby neighbor told me they had cut trees too close to their house in recent years. None of them planted replacement trees. This neighborhood was built in 1956 - 1959. The internet tells me the Bradford Pear was really popular in the 1960s for landscaping because they grew fast.

It's going to come down all at once, leaving this.

That stump grinder moves from side to side for those that do not know. I didn't know because I have never had the stumps taken out when I had trees cut down in the past. I let a redheaded woodpecker take out the last stump I had 15 years ago at the house up north.

Almost ready for the cleanup phase of the job. 

While he was leaf blowing the yard I thought I'd ask if they could remove the fallen tree in back of the house. Two people I thought were interested in November, didn't want the wood. Plus when I called for the tree removal appointment in November, the tree in back had not fallen over yet.

They called the office to see if they had time before their next job and to give me a quote. I thought $125 was well worth it, to get this off the bank and out of my way. 

Of course Watson was at the fence baying like a bloodhound does, from the time he saw the man move along "his" fence. Bloodhounds, believe it or not, are pretty protective of their house and property. 

As they were almost finished I saw this laying on the front porch and thought it must have been part of their equipment. That was the wrong assumption. Guess what? They found this in the tree while they were cutting it. Was it holding two limbs together??

Yes it looks much different without the tree. Both neighbors next to me were happy that I was cutting it down. I was happy I was cutting it down. It will mean less leaves to blow and mow next fall, a cleaner driveway and I will not have to shoot my basketball from under the limbs on some of my shots. 

I will let this look simmer in my mind for a while before I decide what to do. I am thinking some new grass in this area and if I do plant another tree I can go to the opposite corner or off center toward the opposite corner of my yard. I am thinking maybe a Dogwood or a Japanese Maple tree.

After a rough afternoon of work, the hounds and the dog are snoring away in a deep sleep. So that was the excitement for the month I guess. I enjoyed watching them take the tree down and all the way through the project. Pretty interesting how coordinated the process was. I was their third job of the day.

Temps in the mid 40's here today in "the tropics" of Southern Indiana.